Justice (The Tempests) by Kerry Kaya

Author:Kerry Kaya [Kaya, Kerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Published: 2023-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

14

From out of the corner of her eye, Terri watched Rina. Despite her insistence to open the pub, Terri still felt that it was far too soon. Archie had only been gone a few days and they hadn’t even held a funeral for him yet; his body was still being held by the coroner until the authorities had finalised their enquiries. Not that Rina’s supposed high spirits did anything to erase Terri’s concern. Rina had gone from crying her heart out one moment and refusing to even climb out of bed to becoming businesslike the next. It wasn’t natural, Terri decided and sooner or later Rina was bound to break.

‘This place won’t run itself,’ she’d told Terri when she’d voiced her concerns. And in a roundabout way Terri supposed she was right, but waiting another day or two before opening up wouldn’t have hurt either, especially as Ricky and Jamie had ploughed enough money into the business that Rina could afford to stay closed even if it was for just a few more days.

Wiping down the bar, Terri looked up in time to see Jonny Carter approach. He flashed her a wide smile and slipped onto a bar stool, his expensive aftershave assaulting her nostrils.

‘I wasn’t expecting to see the pub open so soon,’ he remarked.

Terri sighed and as she shot a glance towards Rina, she lifted her eyebrows. ‘Same here, but you know what it’s like, Rina calls the shots, and she can be a stubborn bugger at times.’

‘How is she doing?’

As Rina let out a high-pitched laugh, both Terri and Jonny turned their heads in her direction. Even to their untrained ears the laugh had sounded false, as though Rina was barely holding it together.

‘She’s putting on a brave face,’ Terri exclaimed. ‘But I wouldn’t be surprised if she breaks down. She’s bound to. She can’t just pretend that everything is fine when it isn’t, she’s lost her husband for Christ’s sake.’

Jonny nodded. ‘Maybe it’s the shock kicking in.’

‘Yeah maybe,’ Terri answered thoughtfully, worry flashing in her eyes. ‘I just wish that there was something I could do to help her, something that would take the pain away.’

‘I remember when my brother died,’ Jonny continued. ‘It took me a long time to get my head around the fact he was gone, that I’d never see him again. Every time I walked into the office, I expected to find him sitting behind the desk, still do sometimes.’ He shrugged. ‘And it’s been years since he was murdered.’

‘I suppose it’s all part of the process,’ Terri sighed. ‘A way for the brain to cope with the trauma of losing someone close to you.’

‘She’ll get through it; she doesn’t have any other choice, does she?’ Resting his forearms on the bar, there was a twinkle in Jonny’s eyes as he lifted himself up and looked Terri over.

‘What?’ Feeling self-conscious, Terri tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. ‘Have I got something on my face?’ She rubbed her hand over her cheeks, before patting herself down, checking that everything was as it should be.

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