Fiendish Delights (Thrill of the Hunt Book 2) by Helen Harper

Author:Helen Harper [Harper, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Seventeen

We waited another day before returning to Wales. Despite our desire to finally uncover Mud McAlpine’s mythical treasure, searching on New Year’s Day was never an option. It was a public holiday; friends and families would be out enjoying the fresh air, and relatives of those buried in the graveyard would be taking advantage of the holiday to pay their respects. It made sense to wait until normal routine was restored. Hopefully Hugo’s fans would also have decided that he wasn’t returning and left the area too.

Given the state of Hester and Otis, it was a good thing there was a delay. Hester had decided to take a dive into a punch-bowl during the party and, when some of the guests had complained, Otis had gone in after her. I was certain his plan had been to haul her out but it didn’t quite work out that way. I didn’t know how much alcoholic punch he’d swallowed accidentally, or how much Hester had drunk deliberately, but they both spent most of New Year’s Day moaning loudly and clutching their heads. And they both now had a faint purple tinge to their skin.

In theory, the silver lining was that they still felt ill the next day as we travelled south and the rest of us were spared their usual bickering. In practice, I wished it were otherwise. The atmosphere in the Jeep, which contained Hugo, Gordon, Slim and me, was uncomfortable to say the least. The conversation was monosyllabic. Hugo and Gordon sat ramrod straight, refusing to look at each other. Slim wouldn’t meet my eye and the air crackled with tension.

By the time we crossed the border into England, with a long way still to go until we reached Wales, I could stand it no longer. ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with R,’ I said.

Hugo, his hands on the wheel, rolled his eyes. ‘Road.’

I grinned. ‘Your turn.’

‘I spy with my little eye,’ he said, albeit reluctantly, ‘something beginning with C.’

Slim leaned forward. ‘Cows.’

‘No.’

‘Clowns.’

‘Do you see any clowns, Slim?’

I snapped my fingers. ‘Clouds.’ Hugo nodded. ‘My turn again!’ I straightened up. ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with U, T, F, N, R.’

Nobody said anything. I waited for a beat then filled in the blanks. ‘Unbearable tension for no reason. So what gives?’

Slim hissed a warning under his breath while Hugo and Gordon stayed quiet. ‘Hello?’ I asked.

Hester raised her head weakly. ‘Yeah, spill the beans. Even I can work out something is wrong, and I’m at death’s door.’

The awkward silence stretched out, but sooner or later somebody would break it. Normally, I’d have kept my curiosity to myself – everyone deserved to keep their secrets – but this particular secret could jeopardise our treasure hunt if this tension continued.

It was Gordon who sighed heavily and started to explain. ‘Several years ago I was hired to do a job that Hugo didn’t approve of. That’s all.’

‘What you do is your business.’ Hugo’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel more tightly.

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