Whispered Bones by Lewis N.C

Author:Lewis, N.C.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2021-11-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter forty-six

Fenella placed a log on the fire. She was in the lounge where they'd gathered after Nan's Sunday meal. They only used it when Nan had one of her fancy do's. The room was large with wide bay windows which looked onto the lawn. It was not yet dark, although dusk was creeping across the hedged fields which sloped away to the cliffs and sea. She loved this cottage on Cleaton Bluff. It was home sweet home. Always.

She turned from the fireplace to watch the room. Dexter gnawed on a chicken bone with a plate full to the brim of rice and peas, with sides of fried okra and plantain. His third. He'd been in a jovial mood since the visit with Nellie Cook. There was a mysterious gleam in his eyes. Not that most would notice, but Fenella had worked with him for years. Once, years back, when they first worked together, she'd seen that look. It took her a week to wheedle it out of him. His great-aunt had left him land in Tobago which he'd sold for a handsome sum. This time she'd not wait a week to get at his news. What was he over the moon about?

Nan and Malc Buckham sat in wing-back armchairs in a quiet corner by the floor lamp. Malc's mop of white hair gave him the look of a statesman, and he wore a pinstripe suit. Old school, Fenella thought. He grew up at a time when "Sunday best" was a thing. Nan, too, had changed into a floral dress, all floaty and frills, which matched the grin still stuck to her face after Fenella had first introduced them.

"So that's Dexter, eh?" Gail Stubbs stood at Fenella's side, holding a bowl crammed full of pie and cream. She wore a mauve blouse, stretch jeans with heeled clogs, and looked ten years younger out of her nurse uniform. She kept her voice low. "Likes his food."

"Aye." Fenella couldn’t help herself; her matchmaking brain was full on. "He's a touch gnarled and grizzled, but I think he looks a lot like Leo, if you squint."

"Nothing like," Gail snorted. "Leo is water under the bridge. Like I said, if he didn’t leave me, I would have left him. It was over a long time ago." She took a spoonful of pie, then nodded towards Jones, who had Lisa Levon on one side and PC Beth Finn on the other. "Your young detective is in demand. There'll be sparks with him for sure."

Fenella watched out of the corner of her eye. They were flitting around Jones like butterflies showing their colours. She'd not interfere in the private lives of her team, but she'd have a think about Jones, see if she couldn’t find him a match. Neither Lisa Levon nor PC Beth Finn were a good fit. Too close to the job.

She thought about PC Hoon. He'd not shown up. Shame. She'd hoped to meet his wife, Maude. Not that she wanted to pry, but the wives always talked, didn’t they? At some point she'd pop over to St Bees to say hello.

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