Hillary's Back! by Faith Martin

Author:Faith Martin [MARTIN, FAITH]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime mystery
Published: 2020-02-13T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Both Hillary and Claire were struck at once by Chloe Dalton’s exceptional beauty. Now in her early twenties, she stood at about Hillary’s height, but moved with an unconscious elegance that came from having a naturally willowy and graceful figure. Her lovely café-au-lait complexion was perfect, and a careful but sparing use of blusher made the most of her seriously high cheekbones. Her nose was narrow, and perhaps her least attractive feature, but her heart-shaped face, luminous brown eyes and well-shaped mouth provided ample distraction.

She was one of the very few people that Hillary had ever met who could probably have become a model, and a successful one at that, if the camera loved her as much as the naked eye.

Chloe had already risen from behind a small desk in her small office overlooking a modern cul-de-sac of new-build houses when her secretary tapped on the door and showed them in.

Their witness was clearly only a junior member of the team here, but Hillary got the feeling from both the receptionist and the secretary that she was well regarded in the small firm. It boded well for her ability to pass the articles needed to become a fully qualified solicitor, and Hillary wondered if her ambitions stopped there, or if she intended to go on and try for the Bar at some point.

She was dressed in a charcoal-coloured, well-tailored suit, snowy white blouse and neat, square-toed shoes with a modest heel. She wore no jewellery.

‘Thank you, Becky. Would you like some tea or coffee?’ she asked, looking politely from Hillary to Claire.

Hillary shook her head and glanced at Claire, who took her cue from the boss and also declined. With a smile Chloe dismissed the secretary, who had to be ten years her senior, and indicated the chairs in front of her desk.

‘Please, sit down. I’m trying to think which case I’m currently working on that might require a visit from the police? We do mostly civil law here at . . .’

‘Ah, no, this isn’t business. Well, ours, but not yours,’ Hillary qualified, quickly showing her ID. ‘I hope your receptionist didn’t give you the wrong idea. I’m a former detective inspector at Thames Valley, now working as a civilian consult on cold cases. We’ve just reopened your brother’s case.’

‘Oh. Yes, Mum said you’d been to see her,’ Chloe said, her eyes flickering slightly as she resumed her seat.

She sounded genuine enough, but as Hillary smiled, she also had to wonder. Had this very beautiful young woman really thought that they’d called on her because of some legal matter she was dealing with? Or had she guessed right away why they were here? And if so, why all the shenanigans?

‘How can I help?’ Chloe asked brightly. She was sitting very straight in her chair, and her hands were folded neatly together in front of her on top of her desk. Her gaze was level, and her eyes told Hillary absolutely nothing.

‘I’m sorry if I have to ask questions that may become distressing, Miss Dalton,’ Hillary began.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.