THE QUAYSIDE MURDER an addictive crime mystery full of twists by ROY LEWIS

Author:ROY LEWIS [LEWIS, ROY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books classic crime and mystery
Published: 2019-09-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

From the windows of the flat in Gosforth the lights on the Durham hills were visible as a twinkling chain, gleaming and coruscating in the soft northern darkness. Anne had always loved the night: the popular image of the North was of cold winds and empty beaches; people rarely spoke of the way the night sky appeared, pale blue at the horizon, deep, dark blue above, but always a summer colour, not black, not suffocating, but a soft, gentle hue, the kind you could walk under and see under and make love under. It was one of the reasons why, in choosing a flat for business purposes in Newcastle, to avoid late evening drives back to Sedleigh Hall, she had insisted upon a top-floor address. It still gave her the feeling of freedom, and she could still enjoy the open Northumberland skies. Now, with Eric.

She had been unable to hide her anxiety when he had phoned, to tell her he did not feel up to making his way back to the Hall. She had immediately agreed to see him at the flat, and when she arrived he was already asleep in the chair near the window. She had made no attempt to wake him; instead, she sat down quietly, facing him, watching his face, listening to his breathing.

She remembered how tall he had looked when first they had met; he was a big man, but lean, and soft-moving. She had liked his face: his eyes were gentle, and capable of understanding, and his mouth was generous, though she had seen it hard and stubborn. He could be a stubborn man, and not least in his refusal to give way under the shock of glaucoma, the destruction of one career, and now surgery. It would all have been so much easier if only he was the kind of man who could accept what she had to offer: love, security, and a degree of wealth. Yet perhaps if he had been the kind of man who could accept that, she would have loved him less. There lay the irony of their situation. The obstacles he raised were important to him, though not to her, but though she denied it vehemently, she would have thought less of him as a man, had he not held such scruples. He was wrong, but she loved him for it.

Even so, this business was different. He should not have entered employment so soon; the anxiety was etched on his face, lines around his mouth, and for the first time she was becoming aware of the fact he was twenty years older than she. Eric Ward was a man of strong constitution, but surgery and tension were running him down. She was determined it should stop.

When he woke, he was obviously pleased to see her. She quite deliberately made no fuss, but gave him a glass of wine — one would do no harm — and then busied herself in the kitchen, making a lasagne for them both.

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