Tyack & Frayne Mysteries 02 - Tinsel Fish by Harper Fox

Author:Harper Fox
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2013-12-20T05:00:00+00:00

***

The strange thing was that Dark hadn’t been festive at all. Gideon paused in closing the living-room curtains and looked out, although there was little to see on a cloudy night this close to solstice. He checked off dates in his head: yes, tomorrow would be the shortest, darkest day. The longest night... Absently he crushed the curtain fabric in one hand. A neglected scent rose from its dusty velvet. It had once been a kind of wine red, but had faded to nondescript brown. Like everything else in this house, it had belonged to Gideon’s parents, never to him. He had secured a new place to rent – a cheerful, handsome set of rooms in the former manse house, with a garden for Isolde and no damp. He could have taken Lee there tonight. He’d transferred enough of his furniture.

But Lee had asked to come here, and Gideon would have done anything to take the lost chill out of his eyes. He’d expected to find the village streets full of distraction – kids gone rampant crazy to have not just a token hint of snow but a proper foot-deep blanket, the Prowse brood hiding stones in their snowballs, the Christmas lights that looked as if they’d shone through at least one World War gleaming fitfully. But the streets had been empty and dark. Maybe rumours of the Beast were still circulating. Maybe the vintage bulbs had finally shorted out and died. And Lee, after reaching the refuge he’d seemed to crave, had sat shivering and silent by the hearth until Gideon had gone upstairs, made up the bed with extra blankets and a hot-water bottle, and gently ordered him away, enough being enough for one complicated day.

He closed the curtains tight. The static of unease was palpable in the house. He wondered how poor Rachel Jones was getting on, and he found he was glad Lee hadn’t asked him to pick up the dog en route: most of her nervous habits were gone, but in this atmosphere she’d have been whining and chasing her tail. Gideon felt about ready to do likewise. He locked the outer door – painted over now, its scratches concealed – and went quietly upstairs.

Lee was still awake, a tense shape beneath the eiderdown. He uncurled as Gideon sat on the bed; pushed himself up against the pillows. “Are you okay?”

I thought you didn’t care any more. Gideon silenced the thought. Whatever Lee was struggling with, he wasn’t its source or its target. That was a small, cold comfort. “I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”

“Don’t. I’m just...” He sat forward, running his fingers into his hair. “Oh, tired. How did I get this tired?”

“I used to stay with my gran a lot when I was a kid. If me and my brother had been misbehaving ourselves, at the end of the day she’d say we’d worn ourselves out being bad.”

Lee gave an unwilling chuckle. “I suppose that’s what I’ve done. I can’t imagine you and Ezekiel as bad little kids.

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.