In Safe Keeping by Lee Christine

Author:Lee Christine [Christine, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-12-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

8.20 p.m. Thursday

Evan shifted the Porsche down a gear, turned into Sussex Street and headed towards the King Street Wharf.

Twenty minutes earlier, he’d left Laila with Dickson, with plans to meet back at the house in two hours. That left him about an hour to track down Allegra Greenwood. Understandably, she wasn’t answering her phone the Thursday night of a long weekend. But a quick call to her secretary, Josie, and he learned Allegra and Luke were at the Malaya Restaurant at the wharf.

He pulled into a No Parking zone outside the restaurant, threw the car into park and killed the engine. On the curb, he did up his top button and straightened his tie. With luck, he wouldn’t need a jacket to get in. Laila still had his coat.

For the first time since the fire, Evan remembered the jacket and sunglasses he’d left in her office. He smiled to himself. If he kept hanging out with Laila, he’d need to get fitted for some new suits.

A blast of cool, filtered air greeted him as he opened the door and stepped inside. An elaborately designed black-and-white marble counter dwarfed the demure Asian woman standing behind it.

‘Good evening sir. Do you have a reservation?’

‘I don’t. My name’s Evan Barclay. I’m a lawyer at Poole Greenwood. There’s an urgent matter I need to discuss with my employer, Allegra Greenwood. I understand from her P.A. she’s dining here tonight.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m not at liberty…’

‘She’s not answering her phone,’ Evan continued on as if he hadn’t heard the objection. ‘She’s likely to be with her husband, Luke Neilson.’

The woman hesitated, looked him up and down, then appeared to come to a decision. ‘Just a moment.’

Evan held his breath as she consulted a leather-bound folder, running her index finger down the list of reservations. ‘There’s no booking for Greenwood. Was Neilson the other name you mentioned?’

‘Yes.’

‘There’s a booking for a Mr Neilson.’ The woman looked up. ‘May I have your business card?’

‘Certainly.’ Evan opened his wallet, pleased he’d left it in the console of his car and not in his jacket. He took out a card and handed it to the maître d’. ‘Thank you.’

‘I won’t be a moment.’

The woman departed, and Evan looked around the impressive entrance. Wrought-iron wine racks reached to the ceiling and formed an attractive partition from the main dining area. Two enormous fish tanks stocked with lobsters and mud crabs, blissfully unaware of their imminent fate, graced another wall.

Why hadn’t he brought Laila to places like this, been more open with her, more honest about his background? After all, he had a lot to be proud of. It was only his early life that shamed him. Even now, he could feel the hurtful stares, hear the callous comments of the town’s people.

Look at the mother. What hope does the kid have?

Evan dragged in a deep breath and cast aside the memories. Like an idiot, he’d convinced himself that keeping his relationship with Laila a secret would give her time

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