Human Assets by Alex Walters

Author:Alex Walters [Walters, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

‘You live in a pub? You should have said.’

‘I live behind the pub. You can’t really see it from here,’ Emma said.

She took a left turn, apparently into the pub car park, but then continued past the pub itself and up a single-lane track. After another hundred metres, she turned off the track and pulled up beside a neat, attractive-looking cottage.

‘Convenient for the pub, though,’ Gormley said.

‘Bit too convenient sometimes. We’ve had the odd drunk driver trying to take a shortcut this way.’ She gestured uphill. ‘The road eventually just peters out into a bog, so we’ve had some entertainment dragging their cars out afterwards. Not much fun at eleven o’clock at night, though.’

‘I can see that.’ Gormley was surveying the view behind them. From where they were standing the land dropped away to the river valley, rising again on the far side of the village. It was almost fully dark, and all that was visible was a scattering of lights below them and across the valley.

‘We can pop down for a pint, though, if you fancy it. Decent food.’

‘Sounds perfect after today.’

‘Let’s get our stuff inside, then we can head down.’ She opened the car boot and pulled out their bags. Gormley lifted out the suitcases that had belonged to Paul. ‘Just leave them in the hall,’ Emma said. ‘I’m not sure I can face even looking at Paul’s stuff at the moment.’

She unlocked the front door and strode down the hallway to disable the burglar alarm. She’d feared, and half expected, that the house might have been broken into while she’d been away and she felt some trepidation as she turned on the living-room light. But, as far as she could see, the room was undisturbed. She checked the kitchen and the room she’d jokingly designated the office, but there was no sign anyone had been here.

‘All okay?’ Gormley said from behind her.

‘Doesn’t look as if we’ve had any visitors.’

‘Did you think you might?’

‘Someone’s keen to find something. Given they tried several times in Cambridge, I thought they might have tried here.’ She closed the living-room curtains as if attempting to shut out the night. ‘Maybe they still will. It looks to me as if they’d assumed Paul still had whatever it is they want, but then they tried your room in case it had been found and placed in your safekeeping. Then me, in case you’d handed it to me. If that’s the case, this could well be next on the list.’

‘That’s not tremendously reassuring.’

‘No, not really. It’s something I need to think about, though. Something we need to think about.’

‘Any ideas welcome.’

‘I might have one. Let’s get down to the pub, get some food and beer in us, and then we can give it some consideration.’

Gormley had dropped the two cases in the hall. ‘Want me to do anything with these?’

‘We can sort all that out when we get back. I just realised I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.’

They stepped back out into the night, Emma carefully resetting the alarm and locking the door behind them.

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