Sharp Shooter by Marianne Delacourt

Author:Marianne Delacourt
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: FIC022040, FIC050000
ISBN: 9781742691879
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd
Published: 2010-10-26T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

NICK TOZZI’S OFFICE WAS in a sleek, discreet building in East Perth, not far from the famous sports ground known to cricket fanatics around the world as the WACA. Royal Perth Hospital was within spitting distance, as was a small inner-city park that boasted a desultory rose garden and some paintflaked benches. Right now a couple huddled on one of the benches, sharing sips from a flagon of port.

Nick slid his four-wheel drive down the alleyway behind the building, and into a bay stencilled Tozzi.

‘My great-granddad might have been lord mayor but I don’t have my own parking spot near the centre of the city,’ I observed dryly.

He got out of the car and came around to open my door again. Another gentlemanly gesture – if he hadn’t been frowning. ‘Are you always so acerbic with your rescuers?’

‘I prefer to think of this as a friend doing a favour for a friend. I didn’t need rescuing.’

‘Yeah, right,’ he said with sarcasm.

We walked (well, he walked, I limped) across the small six-berth car park to the service lift where he inserted a key. The doors grated open and we stepped inside. The lift specification said six persons maximum capacity, and Nick took up the space of five. I turned sideways so as not to get squashed by his shoulders.

‘So we’re “friends”, are we?’ he asked.

I watched the lift lights as we shot to the third floor.

‘Well . . . in a way,’ I said, suddenly nervous. I could smell his aftershave and the perspiration underneath it. But more than that, his proximity was like pin pricks on my skin. It was a pleasant, if unsettling, distraction from the throb of my blisters.

He stared down at me. Not many people got to do that and I hated it. But before he could respond, the lift opened into an open-plan office and twenty sets of eyes fixed on me.

Nick encompassed them all in one sweeping glance. ‘This is Tara Sharp. A friend.’

Curiosity rose from them like steam from a kettle, floating towards me and coating me in a moist film.

‘Um, hi,’ I said with a limp wave. I resisted the desire to look down at my bare, filthy feet.

Nick ushered me into the one enclosed office on the floor and called out, ‘Jenelle!’

A smart-looking redhead appeared and he closed the three of us inside.

‘Yeah, Nick?’ Her blue eyes were wide with interest.

‘Get the first-aid kit and show Tara the bathroom.’

Jenelle stared at my feet. ‘Oh, you poor thing! Sure.’

‘Then go down town and pick up a pair of sneakers for her.’

‘No –’ I began to protest, but Tozzi’s frown silenced me.

‘You need shoes, Tara,’ he said.

‘Thank you.’ I sighed, then looked at Jenelle. ‘I’m size eleven.’

She nodded. ‘I’ll do my best. This way.’

‘Come back in here when you’ve finished, Tara,’ Nick ordered. ‘Do you want tea?’

I nodded, and to my embarrassment, my eyes started to fog. ‘Please,’ I said huskily.

Jenelle showed me to the ladies – a bright, lacquered room with a paper dispenser and a deep basin – and left me to it.

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.