The Excitements_ Two National Treasures seek revenge in this delightful mystery for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Wray CJ

Author:Wray, CJ [Wray, CJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781398711860
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2024-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

1949

More than six years had passed since Penny said goodbye to Frank in Arisaig. Throughout that time she’d been strangely certain they would meet again, but she had not for one moment expected that their grand reunion would take place in an East End pawn shop.

‘Bruna?’ Frank blinked theatrically, as though he couldn’t believe his eyes. He wasn’t the only one.

‘Frank,’ Penny stuttered. There was no point putting on a foreign accent now.

‘Well, isn’t this a nice surprise. You’re the last person I expected to see today. And what a get-up!’ Frank said, referring to her Buckingham Palace outfit. ‘I’d never have believed you’d scrub up so well. You look almost presentable.’

‘Get lost,’ said Penny.

‘Lovely to see you too,’ Frank rejoined. Penny presented her cheek so he could kiss her ‘hello’. When he got close enough, he hissed in her ear, ‘What on earth are you doing in this place?’

‘I’ve got a bracelet to sell,’ Penny told him. ‘It was given to me by an admirer.’

Frank glanced at the bracelet glittering on the counter.

‘Nice admirer. You should engineer a proposal at once.’

‘How much will you give me?’ Penny addressed the pawn shop owner again.

The man quoted a price. It was enough to rent a flat big enough for a family of three in Manchester for a year. Penny was about to accept it just so she could get out of there when Frank interrupted.

‘I think the lady would like a moment or two to think about your offer,’ he said, picking the bracelet up and dropping it into Penny’s palm. ‘Come on.’ Frank put his hand on Penny’s elbow and guided her back onto the street.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Penny protested once they were outside. ‘I can handle myself, thank you very much.’

‘Clearly you can’t. I can see from half a mile away that you’re hawking a serious piece of jewellery there and that old ­bastard was going to rip you off.’ Frank prised the bracelet from Penny’s fist and looked at it more closely. He whistled through his teeth. ‘This beau of yours must be smitten.’

Penny snatched the bracelet back. ‘He is. Thank you very much.’

‘Unlucky guy, since he clearly can’t mean that much to you if you’re flogging his gifts to one of the city’s lowest scumbags. Or have you hit upon hard times? You don’t look as though you have.’

‘I don’t have to tell you anything.’

‘Of course not. Do you think your beau would object if I took you for a coffee?’

‘I don’t have time.’

‘Please, Bruna. I’ve only just found you. I can’t let you disappear again.’

Truth was, Penny didn’t want to let Frank disappear again either, not that she would tell him that. The surprise of seeing him in such an incongruous setting – and in a policeman’s uniform at that – was giving way to something else. She wanted to throw herself at him, hitting his chest with her fists and screaming out her anger, before sinking into his arms and staying there all night.

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.