The New Wife: the unputdownable and addictive new thriller from the author of The Girl Before by JP Delaney

Author:JP Delaney [Delaney, JP]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2023-07-19T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-NINE

In the morning, I didn’t join them for Pilates as usual. I lay in bed instead, feeling bruised and exhausted.

There was a soft tap at my door. My heart jumped. Was it—?

But it was only Ruensa, still in her leggings and yoga top. ‘I’m so sorry to disturb you, Finn. There’s a frog in the pool, and I’m not sure what to do.’

I followed her outside. There was no sign of Roze. But, sure enough, there in the swimming pool was a bright green frog, nosing at the side with long, slow kicks.

‘Will it be able to get out on its own?’ Ruensa asked.

‘No.’ I crouched down. It was a water frog, originally introduced to Mallorca because they were endangered on the mainland; now, ironically, they were outcompeting the native frogs. ‘If we leave it, eventually it’ll get tired, and then it’ll drown.’ I added. I looked around for something to put it in. ‘Could you get me a saucepan of fresh water?’

By the time she came back, I had the frog gently enclosed in my fist, its back legs feebly kicking against air. ‘Before we let it go, we should wash the chlorine off,’ I explained. ‘They breathe partly through their skin, so it can be poisonous for them.’

‘It’s strange to think of a frog being able to drown.’ Ruensa crouched beside me as I gently rinsed it off. Then, seeing its chance, it jumped out of the saucepan and into the shade of the lemon tree.

‘Yes.’ I watched it go. ‘But it’ll be all right now.’

‘Finn . . .’ Ruensa said, as we stood up, ‘I just wanted to say thank you, for giving us that cheque.’

‘Oh.’ I shrugged. ‘It’s no more than what you were owed. Not even that, to be honest.’

‘And, Finn . . . You mustn’t mind if . . .’ Ruensa seemed unusually sombre – awkward, even. ‘Roze needs to make sure she doesn’t get sent back to Albania. We know we can’t stay here at Finca Síquia, of course. But for us, the priority now is simply staying in Spain. I’m safe, thanks to your father. But she – Roze – needs to make some difficult choices. I hope you understand.’

She reached out and rubbed my arm, and I was surprised to see that the expression in her eyes was unmistakably one of pity.

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