Blood Red Roses by Lin Anderson

Author:Lin Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781905207404
Publisher: Sandstone Press Ltd

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Rhona went past the jazz club on her way home.

Outside, she read and re-read the advert for the weekly jazz sessions Sean played in, refusing to admit that his name on the billboard was important to her.

It was dark inside. She stumbled down the stairs following the sound of his saxophone. He was practising and his quiet notes matched the beat of her heart.

The same guy was behind the bar, stacking. When he saw her, he melted into the background.

Sean stood alone on stage, lit by a single light, his eyes closed. He was improvising For You. He played the tune through simply, then each note took on a partner, became a trio, then a complex variation.

Sean caught sight of her and stopped.

Rhona thought for a moment she had made a mistake. Was she wrong about the situation between them? She hated the effect the thought had on her. Then his face lit up.

‘Rhona.’

‘I was passing,’ she lied.

‘I’m glad.’

The barman brought coffee. They sat in the shadow of a booth, opposite one another, and drank it. Sean appeared calm. Rhona was nervous, a feeling she didn’t like.

He broke the silence. ‘I’m playing tonight. Will you come?’

‘I’m not a big jazz fan.’

He was three feet from her, yet she could smell the scent of his skin.

‘It takes time to appreciate jazz.’

They were talking but the words meant nothing. Only the physical closeness of their bodies.

‘I don’t start here for a couple of hours. Have you eaten?’

He took her silence as a no and stood up.

‘Let’s go,’ he said.

Bill phoned in the middle of the meal. Rhona knew by his voice it was something bad.

‘Tracey?’

‘The council came to remove a skip from a back alley close to Eden. Tracey’s body was inside. It looks much like the last one.’

Rhona swore under her breath.

Sean was silent, watching her face.

‘I’m on my way.’

She flicked the mobile shut.

‘I have to go. When do you finish at the jazz club?’

‘Midnight,’ he said. ‘I’ll come round.’ It wasn’t a question.

Rhona didn’t argue because it was what she wanted too.

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