Traces of Her: An utterly gripping psychological thriller with a twist you'll never see coming by Amanda Brittany

Author:Amanda Brittany [Brittany, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008331184
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-10-24T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 29

AVA

2001

‘Jesus, that was freaky,’ Ava said, as she and Dexter left the cinema, and made their way towards the foyer, past huge posters of upcoming films. ‘I had my eyes closed through most of it. I can’t believe we ate a whole tub of popcorn.’

He laughed and took hold of her hand. ‘You ate a whole tub of popcorn, you mean.’

‘Sorry. My only excuse is I eat when I’m nervous,’ she said, spotting Gareth Jones in front of them.

He turned as though sensing her there. ‘Ava,’ he called raising his hand, stopping to wait for her to catch up.

As Ava and Dexter caught up, she explained who Gareth was, noticing a familiar figure standing with him.

‘Hello, Ava,’ Gareth said with a smile, as they reached him. ‘How are you?’

‘Good thanks,’ she said.

‘This is my son, Maxen,’ he said, gesturing to him.

‘Your son?’ Ava couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice. But then she didn’t know that much about the inspector, not really.

‘Hey!’ Maxen said with a smile ‘We must stop meeting like this.’

‘We really must,’ she said with a small laugh, feeling herself flush. Dexter released her hand, and placed his on the small of her back, as though claiming her.

‘Oh, do you two know each other?’ Gareth said, surprise in his voice.

‘Not really,’ Maxen said, eyeing Dexter. ‘We’ve just seen each other about.’ He paused. ‘Did you enjoy The Others, Ava?’

‘Yes,’ she said, nodding and glancing at Gareth, hoping he would chip in with the conversation, but he said nothing. This was all a bit stiff and awkward, but Maxen was on a roll.

‘Freaky, isn’t it?’ he said.

‘Yes, yes, it really is, yes.’

‘And what a twist,’ he added.

‘Well, yes, what I saw of it from behind my hands.’

Dexter’s face was set hard. ‘We should go,’ he said, and the pressure of his hand on her back, told her the conversation was over.

‘Well, it was good to see you both,’ she said, allowing him to lead her away.

‘I’ll get those courses to you as soon as I can, Ava,’ Gareth called after her, as they pushed through the vacating crowd and out into the street.

A flurry of snowflakes fluttered down, and Ava turned her face towards the night sky, allowing them to dance on her skin.

‘He’s the guy who bought the taps, isn’t he?’ Dexter said, taking her hand and squeezing, as they headed down the street, past shops decked in Christmas decorations. She liked Dexter, but he suddenly seemed a bit possessive. ‘How do you know him, Ava?’

‘Maxen? I’ve seen him about, that’s all.’ Why was he making her feel guilty? ‘I think they must live in the village. I hadn’t realised he was Gareth Jones’ son though. I know Gareth better. He’s a police inspector. In fact, he saved me from Justin the other night.’

‘Justin?’ Dexter stared down at her intently, his eyes dark. She hadn’t meant to say his name. She didn’t want him to know about Justin – not yet anyway.

‘Ah, well … there’s so much you don’t know about me,’ she said, with a small laugh.

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