Chloe - Lost Girl (Carl Sant Murder Mysteries Book 1) by Dan Laughey

Author:Dan Laughey [Laughey, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Creativia
Published: 2019-03-04T22:00:00+00:00

8

Weeping widows are never a sight to behold, but as he stared into the penetrating blue eyes of Claire Dryden, made sapphire blue by teardrops of grief, he couldn’t take his mind off the physical charm confronting him. Her perfect oval face, pale skin and shoulder-length blonde hair gave the woman an eerily symmetrical quality, like a sculpture carved from marble by precision tools.

Sant offered his condolences, noting a half-empty bottle of vodka and several empty cans of Diet Coke on the kitchen Formica. ‘We’re trying to get to the bottom of Liam’s death,’ he said. ‘Did your husband talk to you about the cases he’d worked on lately?’

‘Only after they were solved,’ she said, wiping more tears away. ‘He was a professional in that sense. Sometimes I would ask, but he’d never let on. I’ve always been a nosy parker, not that it got me anywhere.’

‘How about the last few weeks? Did you notice anything different about Liam?’

‘What do you mean?’

Sant knew he had to tread carefully. ‘It could be any detail, big or small. Perhaps he changed his routine in some way, or his mood changed?’

Claire Dryden fidgeted. Her left hand did its best to smother a ball of Kleenex.

‘Something changed a month or two ago,’ she said after a long silence. ‘It’s not a subject I find easy, you know, to talk about.’

Another lengthy silence. Sant waited and finally intervened. ‘I appreciate how difficult this is for you, Mrs Dryden.’

‘Please, just call me Claire.’ A couple of tears fell from her sapphires as she looked at him; through him. ‘No need for formalities among friends.’

Unsure at first… he made up his mind. Moving slowly towards her, touching and then holding her, he stroked her wet hair as the tears flowed. Several grief-stricken minutes passed before the sobs softened and he slowly released his clasp.

‘Claire, you knew your husband better than anyone – ’

‘But that’s just it. I’m not sure if I did know him. I certainly didn’t understand him, not after…’

More silence.

‘Go on.’

‘As I was saying, a couple of months ago our sex life took a turn for the… well’ – she laughed – ‘worse or better, depending on one’s point of view.’

‘More or less sex?’ he asked tentatively, never one to dwell on private matters.

‘More. Much more! All the bloody time!’

Taken aback by her bluntness, at the same time Sant felt grateful for the leeway to probe further.

‘Changing routines?’

‘Absolutely. Not to beat about the bush, our normal routine was to make love once a week. Twice on special occasions. And that was fine as I far as I was concerned. For me, it’s not about… the sensuality. A hug and a kiss are just as satisfying.’

‘I understand,’ he said. The woman’s forthrightness pleased and troubled him at the same time.

‘I doubt you understand. You’re a man.’ This was followed by another uncomfortable silence which Sant held back the urge to break. ‘It was late summer,’ she went on eventually. ‘Liam, all of a sudden, took on a new lease of life.

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