The Husband's Secret(113)

            “Just gadding about,” said Trudy. “I read a lot. Love a good whodunit! I pride myself on guessing who the murderer is—oh!”

            Her face turned bright pink with distress.

            “I quite like historical fiction myself,” said Rachel quickly, avoiding her eye and pretending to be busily distracted with picking up her bag and coat and Easter basket.

            “Ah.” Trudy couldn’t recover her equilibrium. Her eyes filled with tears.

            The poor girl was only fifty, not that much older than what Janie would have been. Her kooky gray wispy hair made her look like an elderly toddler.

            “It’s fine, Trudy,” said Rachel softly. “You didn’t upset me. It’s perfectly fine.”





FORTY-TWO


            Hi,” Tess answered her phone. It was Connor. Her body responded instantly to his voice, like Pavlov’s salivating dog.

            “What are you doing?” he asked.

            “I’m buying hot cross buns,” said Tess. She’d picked up Liam from school and taken him up to the shops for a treat. Unlike yesterday, he seemed quiet and moody after school and not interested in talking about his Easter hat win. She was also buying a whole list of things for her mother, who had suddenly realized the shops would be closed the next day, for one whole day, and had gone into a panic about the state of her pantry.

            “I love hot cross buns,” said Connor.

            “Me too.”

            “Really? We’ve got so much in common.”

            Tess laughed. She noticed Liam looking up at her curiously, and she turned slightly away from him so that he couldn’t see her flushed face.

            “Anyway,” said Connor, “I wasn’t calling for any particular reason. I just wanted to say that last night was really . . . nice.” He coughed. “That’s an understatement, actually.”

            Oh, God, thought Tess. She pressed the palm of her hand to her burning cheek.

            “I know things are really complicated for you right now,” continued Connor. “I don’t have any, ah, expectations, I promise you. I’m not going to make your life more complicated. But I just wanted you to know that I’d love to see you again. Anytime.”

            “Mum?” Liam pulled on the edge of her cardigan. “Is that Dad?”

            Tess shook her head.

            “Who is it?” demanded Liam. His eyes were big and worried.

            Tess pulled the phone away from her ear and put a finger to her lip. “It’s a client.” Liam lost interest immediately. He was used to conversations with clients.

            Tess took a few steps away from the crowd of customers waiting to be served at the bakery.

            “It’s okay,” said Connor. “Like I said, I really don’t have any—”

            “Are you free tonight?” interrupted Tess.

            “God, yes.”

            She put her lips close to the phone, as if she were a secret agent. “I’ll come over after Liam is asleep. I’ll bring hot cross buns.”





            Rachel was walking toward her car when she saw her daughter’s murderer.

            He was talking on his mobile phone, swinging his motorbike helmet held loosely in his fingertips. As she got closer, he suddenly tipped back his head to the sun as if he’d just received unexpectedly wonderful news. The afternoon light glinted off his sunglasses. He snapped the phone shut and slid it in his jacket pocket, smiling to himself.