In Plain Sight by In Plain Sight (epub)

Author:In Plain Sight (epub)
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Books
Published: 2019-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Nicola and Ollie Steedman lived in a semi-detached Victorian house just off Dundee’s Perth Road. A wrought-iron gate opened onto a tiled path, bordered on either side by small shrubs and herbs, spilling over onto the tiles. A light behind the stained glass in the front door cast a warm and inviting glow. Geoffrey rang the bell and immediately opened the door, walking in ahead of Clare.

‘Hello?’ he called.

‘Don’t they lock the door?’ Clare whispered, and he just laughed.

A tall, slender woman, hair cut into a sleek dark bob, appeared from a door, smiling broadly.

‘Geoff,’ she said, embracing him warmly. ‘Great to see you.’ Then she looked at Clare. ‘And you must be Clare. Lovely to meet you at last. Come in and I’ll introduce you to everyone.’

Clare held out the chrysanthemums and realised immediately they were wrong. They had been the best of a poor selection in the florist’s and now she saw that the bright purple daisies were out of place. Gaudy and vulgar. Nicola took them, saying how lovely they were, and ushered Clare into a large dining kitchen. It was a colourful room with an assortment of kitchen units, painted in a deep blue, set off with oak worktops. A collection of black and white photos of Nicola and what Clare presumed were celebs decorated one wall, with prints by the Scottish Colourists on another. A long green trug filled with pots of herbs sat on a recessed windowsill and, next to it, was a gaily painted jug filled with sunflowers. At the far end of the room was a conservatory extension with a collection of easy chairs facing out to the garden. In the centre of the room three people sat at a scrubbed refectory table, chatting and laughing. The hubbub died down as Clare entered and three pairs of eyes turned to take her in.

A man with sandy hair rose to greet them. ‘Hi, Geoff. And this must be Clare. I’m Ollie.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Clare said, turning her cheek to allow him to kiss her. She was surprised when he kissed the other cheek too. It was a clumsy exchange and she felt her face redden.

‘Come and sit down.’

The other couple waved at Clare but didn’t rise from their seats. Geoffrey introduced Beth and Leo and Clare smiled. Ollie relieved her of her coat and instantly she became aware that she was overdressed. Nicola was in jeans and a black T-shirt, a pair of Birkenstocks on her otherwise bare feet. Beth was even more casually dressed in a pair of dark green harem pants, a faded sweatshirt and what seemed to be very holey trainers.

Ollie pressed a glass of wine into Clare’s hand.

‘Oh no,’ she said. ‘I can’t.’

‘Geoff,’ Nicola said, her tone reproving, ‘I thought you were going to drive tonight?’

‘It’s not that,’ Clare said. ‘Work. I may have to go back.’

‘Clare’s a police officer,’ Geoffrey said. ‘Detective Inspector.’

There was a short pause, then Beth Daventry said, ‘Goodness. How peculiar.’

Clare settled herself on a chair with Leo on one side and Geoffrey on the other.

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.