Bleak Town: A Hazel Moore Mystery by Sarah Horth

Author:Sarah Horth [Horth, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Parua Design Publishing
Published: 2022-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

45

With the barbs flying between them increasing in strength, Hazel thought it was a good time to move. She edged through the crowd to the far side of the living room and claimed a corner. She looked across the crowd. Abagail had found Tommy and, good god, he was dancing like an awkward stick insect to what could be a punk-rock song. She laughed in surprise when she saw Johnno and Andreas from the soup kitchen joining in the free-for-all of pogo-ing dancers, sure one of them was about to fall into the drum kit. She hadn’t expected to see any of the god-squad here, but Andreas was easy to spot, being a head taller than most around him.

She saw their host, the lovely Rosetta, with one arm around the tubby Frank, her boss at the bar. They were both laughing madly at something said by one of the wiry guys Hazel recognized from the barbecue stands.

Nancy, the young prostitute, was here with an older guy. Hazel narrowed her eyes at his smooth gray hair and clean-looking clothes. He looked like he was about to go golfing. A client? Christ, she shouldn’t be so suspicious. He could be Nancy’s father.

Hazel winced as she watched the man’s arm slip around the girl’s waist and snake down to pat her just-clad bottom. The girl looked like she was a child dressed in her mother’s clothes, so slight in the red mini-dress. The man whispered in her ear, and Nancy laughed, a sound that didn’t carry across the room, but Hazel imagined it was flirty. She frowned and turned away. He was so old—too old for Hazel. So what was he doing with a teenager? Nancy was just surviving the best way she could, and Hazel wasn’t helping by judging.

“I thought that was you.”

Hazel looked up and into Will Harington’s blue eyes, then her eyes skimmed over his fine self dressed in a black T-shirt and worn jeans.

“Doctor,” she said, moving a step back. “I saw you were here, friends with Rosetta?”

“I just live around the corner, and Kia and Rosetta have kept me fed since I moved in. Josie and I aren’t very good cooks.”

“How does anyone survive these days without cooking?”

“I can throw a few meals together, but mostly I eat at the infirmary or Frank’s.”

She nodded. “The infirmary food isn’t too bad for hospital food.”

“I like Tuesdays when your bread is delivered.”

“I’m happy to help.” She scanned the room. “Where’s Josie?”

“She just got back from her work trip, so she’s catching up with her boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Hazel tried not to gape. “You’re okay with that?”

“She’s a grown woman,” he said, shrugging.

The doc was more alternative than she’d picked him for. Maybe that was why he was giving her the eye; he was in an open marriage.

“Right.” She sipped her drink and trying to work out how she could edge away.

He was frowning now. “You know Josie’s my sister, right?”

Hazel almost choked on her drink. “Sister?”

“You thought we were married?” He burst into laughter, and she could only join him.

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.