The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett

Author:Simon Beckett [Beckett, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 9780440336341
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2006-07-15T05:00:00+00:00

16

The next week passed in a state of limbo. A subdued tension filled the air like ozone, a dull anticipation as everyone waited for something to happen.

Nothing did.

The general mood matched the landscape, flat and becalmed. The weather continued as hot and unblemished as ever, without any hint of gathering clouds. The police investigation ground on, producing no sign of either suspect or victim, and the streets became noisy as every child of school age celebrated the start of their long summer break. I returned to my normal hours at the surgery, and if there were more patients now asking to see Henry, or an element of reserve in many of those I did see, I chose not to notice it. This was my life now, and Manham, for better or worse, my home. Sooner or later even this would pass, and then some sort of normalcy would return.

That was what I told myself, anyway.

I saw Jenny regularly over the following days. One evening we drove out for dinner to a restaurant in Horning, where the tables had linen cloths and candles, and the wine list was more than a choice between red or white. It already seemed as if we'd known one another for years instead of having just met. Perhaps that was partly because of what we'd each been through. We'd both experienced a side of life that was a foreign country to most people, discovered how tenuous was the line separating the everyday from tragedy. The knowledge bonded us like a private language, unspoken most of the time, but there nevertheless. It had seemed natural to tell her about my history, about Kara and Alice, and about the forensic work I'd been carrying out for Mackenzie. She'd listened without comment, only briefly touching my hand when I'd finished.

'I think you're doing the right thing,' she said, allowing the contact to linger a moment before quickly moving her hand away. And then, without awkwardness or embarrassment, we'd started talking about something else.

Only on the way back was there any tension. Jenny withdrew further into herself the closer we drew to Manham. The conversation that had been effortless first became stilted, then dried up altogether.

'Is everything OK?' I asked as I pulled up outside her house.

She nodded, but too quickly. 'Well, good night,' she said in a rush, opening the car door. But she hesitated before she climbed out.

'Look, I'm sorry, I just... I don't want to hurry into anything.'

I nodded, numbly.

'No, I don't mean... It's not that I don't want...' She drew a deep breath. 'Just not yet, all right?' She gave me an uncertain smile. 'Not yet.'

Before I could answer she'd leaned into the car and given me a kiss, a fleeting brush of her lips, before hurrying into the house. I felt breathless, buoyed and guilty at the same time.

But her words stayed with me for another reason. Not yet. That had been the answer Linda Yates had given me when I'd asked if she'd dreamed about Lyn.

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