Blood Loss by Kerena Swan (good beach reads .txt) 📕

We complete the course in a reasonable time but the sense of achievement I hoped for doesn’t materialise. I can’t shake off a feeling of unease.

‘Let’s have a drink before we head home,’ Nisha says.

I look at my watch. Grace will be there for another half hour. ‘Just a quick lemonade or something,’ I say.

The queue at the pub is ridiculously long so we accept free bottles of water from a marshal then find an empty patch of prickly grass to sit on. Nisha chatters on but I barely listen.

‘Worrying about your mum?’ Nisha eventually asks.

‘I’m always worrying about Mum these days.’

‘You’re worrying about something else as well. Best friends know these things.’

‘I’m thinking about Lucy,’ I admit.

Try as I might I can’t quite rid myself of the suspicion that she invented a cold to get out of looking after Mum today. Even if she did, it doesn’t follow that she had anything to do with my fall. And she wouldn’t do anything to harm me while Mum’s so ill. Lucy might not like me much – might dislike me intensely, in fact – but she wouldn’t upset Mum so cold-bloodedly.

‘You think it was her in the rabbit costume?’

‘Course not.’

‘You’re not putting two and two together? Incident in the woods plus incident here, and wondering if they’re part of a masterplan to diddle you out of your share of the inheritance by getting rid of you?’

‘You’re being a drama queen,’ I say.

‘I know. I’m trying to cheer you up.’ She grins widely.

I smile but a cold sensation has crept into my stomach. I haven’t given a thought to inheritance but Lucy might have done. And money is important to her.

When I arrive home, Grace picks up her bag ready to leave. ‘Your mum has slept a lot this morning but she’s up and dressed now. I helped her in the shower and made her a sandwich for lunch.’

‘Thanks, Grace, you’re a star,. I give her a quick kiss on the cheek. She looks surprised but pleased.

I run upstairs to see Mum and get changed but she’s not there. I check the bathroom then go back downstairs and through to the lounge. Mum is sitting by the open doors looking better than I’ve seen her for a while and my heart squeezes as she gives me a warm smile. How many more smiles will there be?

‘How was the run?’ she asks.

‘Great fun. More of a walk really as we’re so unfit. Have you had a good morning?’

‘When I finally woke up I felt so lazy I had to make the effort to get up and come downstairs. I feel much better for it. I need to stop spending so much time in my room. Where’s Merlin? I was hoping to see him in the paddock.’

‘He’s in his stable as I’m cutting down on his grazing. He’ll get laminitis if I’m not careful. Would you like to come and see him?’

‘I will later, but now I need you to drop something at Lucy’s for me. She’s having a few issues at work and I promised to lend her some books and case studies to read while she’s nursing her cold.’

My first feeling is resistance. I don’t want to be anywhere near my sister. On the other hand, seeing her might lay my stupid suspicions to rest. Twenty minutes later I leave my car near Lucy’s flat. Walking towards the entrance I notice her parked car and on impulse touch my hand to the bonnet.

It feels warm. Is that because the morning has been hot even though it’s cloudy now and the car is parked in the shade? Or has Lucy been out?

I press the security intercom and with no hesitation that I can detect, Lucy tells me to come up. I haul the bag of books and documents up the stairs to avoid the confines of the tiny lift.

Lucy opens the door and I study her face for signs of hatred. All I see is puzzlement at my hesitation, along with a red nose and watery eyes. ‘Are you coming in or not?’ she asks, with her usual impatience.

‘Not,’ I tell her. ‘I just brought these from Mum.’

I pass over the bag. Lucy peers inside it then mutters her thanks.

I turn to go.

‘How was your run?’ she asks then.

‘It was okay. Have you been out in your car today?’

‘What, looking like this?’ She pulls at her baggy cotton trousers and oversized T-shirt.

‘Your bonnet is warm.’

‘What?’

‘The bonnet of your car. It’s—’

‘I know what you meant. I just didn’t know what you were implying. That I’m pretending to be ill so I can go off and enjoy myself instead of looking after Mum? Perhaps you think I’ve been to a spa or out buying myself a new dress or something? For your information, the cat from next door sleeps on my car bonnet.’

I stand with my mouth open, not knowing how to respond.

‘You’re such a bitch, Jenna,’ she says and shuts the door on me.

Chapter 40

The Previous March | DI Paton

The landlord refused to open the door again or to tell Paton where the skip was. Paton swallowed his frustration and set off down the road at a trot. He reached the corner and peered down the next street, breathing heavily. The daylight had leaked away but the orange glow of the street lights reflected off the parked cars. No skip there. He jogged back along the way he’d come and past the flats until he reached the other end of the street. He rested his hands on his knees for a moment and took deep breaths. Perhaps he should join Cheryl’s gym after all.

A tall house had a builder’s board outside so he made his way towards it then saw the skip behind a parked car. It was full of broken old plasterboard, rolls of cable and rubble. Paton held the side and peered over, looking for any sign of personal possessions.

‘Oi! What are you doing?’

A broad-chested man