Page 44 of M for Murder

‘The usual, eh? I had you pegged as a white wine spritzer type of girl.’

‘Seriously?’

She downed the shot of bourbon Ed had poured for her. ‘Another?’ he asked.

She glanced at Hickok briefly before nodding at the bartender. ‘Definitely.’

Joel watched Angell knock back another shot of bourbon while nursing his second beer and thinking what a bag of contradictions she was. He had initially thought she was going to be girlish and naive, coming from a small backwoods town like Swallow Falls, but she had proved on more than one occasion that she could take care of herself. She had also proven that she was a stickler for rules, lecturing him on speeding and worrying about breaking into Lawrie Parker’s classroom, which suggested that she was too strait-laced to have any vices. Yet here she was looking right at home in a rough and ready blues tavern, knocking back shots of bourbon as if it were lemonade. He was curious to know which persona was the real Rebecca Angell.

He watched her lick the taste of bourbon from her lips and wondered what it was that he found so appealing about her. There weren’t many women in the place and, of those there were, Angell was the most underdressed in her faded jeans and black T-shirt. Unlike for work, she wore her hair loose and it fell down her back, long and straight, shining blue black in the dimmed lights.

There was something about her. Something in the way she looked and something in her attitude. She seemed streetwise yet vulnerable, and although she was sexy, she never quite managed to shrug off that image of the girl next door.

On the whole, Joel didn’t have a lot of time for women. The youngest of five sons, his mother had left home when he’d still been a kid and, of his brothers, three of them were now divorced. He had formed the opinion a long time ago that marriage and relationships were too much trouble, which was why he was never prepared to involve himself with any girl who looked like she might want commitment.

With Angell it would be so easy to go to bed with her, no strings attached. Of course, he knew he couldn’t. He had to keep his personal life separate from his professional life. That was what he kept telling himself each time he saw her and why he was trying so damn hard to antagonise her into hating him. Aside from loving the way she looked when she got mad, he knew that if she hated him enough, she would never sleep with him, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about getting into any awkward situations with her.

Right now, it seemed as though he was doing a pretty good job. Never quite sure how she should take him, she was currently giving him the cold shoulder, her attention focused on the band in the corner of the room, who were performing a rousing rendition of ‘Try a Little Tenderness’.

The music had drawn a large crowd and a handful of people had cleared a space to use as a dance floor. One couple, a fat guy with a cigar clenched between his teeth, and his partner, an ugly woman in a yellow dress, seemed oblivious to the number of people standing around them and were taking up more room than was necessary, knocking into the crowd at regular intervals, in particular a group of bikers who were seated at a table not far from them.

Joel could sense the trouble brewing before it actually happened. One of the bikers, a muscular guy with greasy blond hair and a black eye patch that made him look a little like a pirate, was looking increasingly fed up with being jostled. He managed to keep his cool until the cigar guy pushed his partner too hard and she crashed into him spilling his beer.

Jumping to his feet he shook his fist at the cigar guy.

Joel couldn’t hear what was said above the music, but the threat seemed lost on the cigar guy who didn’t even bother to stop dancing. As he swung the woman in the yellow dress around, Pirate took a step forward and grabbed hold of his shoulder, pulling him to a halt. The cigar guy turned on him indignantly and there was a further exchange of angry words, before he foolishly stuck out both hands and pushed Pirate away.

Seconds later, both men were wrestling on the floor with the crowd closing like a barrier around them as they cheered them on. The band, unconcerned with the furore, continued to play and Joel guessed this wasn’t the first fight they had witnessed in the tavern. He turned to Angell to make a comment and found her bar stool was empty. Looking back toward the brawl, he caught sight of her dark hair as she disappeared into the crowd.

‘Shit!’ he muttered, taking a swig of beer and putting his bottle down on the counter. Following her, he wondered just what he was about to get himself involved in.

Any hopes that Angell had gone merely to watch were dashed the moment he heard her yelling, her voice barely audible above the music.

‘Stop! Police!’

Idiot woman.

As he pushed his way to the front of the crowd, he saw her grab hold of the cigar guy, trying to drag him off Pirate who lay trapped beneath him on the floor. Briefly releasing his grip on Pirate, cigar guy lashed out with his elbow, knocking her flying back into the crowd. There was laughter, a loud cheer and a couple of people started clapping.

One guy yelled out loudly, ‘You go get him, sweetheart.’

Looking a little disgruntled, Angell climbed to her feet, dusting down her jeans. Joel shook his head, swearing under his breath as he watched her move in for a second attempt. Damn Rebecca Angell.

Pirate had seized the opportunity she had given him to get out from beneath cigar guy and both men were now on their feet, arms wrapped tightly around each other, performing some kind of bizarre dance. Without warning, Angell launched herself at cigar guy, this time successfully catching hold of his left arm and twisting it behind his back.

Cursing loudly, Joel pushed his way in behind Pirate, trapping him easily in a headlock, and between the two of them they managed to pull both men apart. Although Pirate relented, seeming almost relieved to be pulled out of the fight, cigar guy wasn’t so forgiving, and Joel watched him fight furiously against Angell, as she struggled to catch a hold of his right arm. Without warning, he lurched forward, sending her flying over his head. As she landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor, he glanced up, locking his sights again on Pirate. Seeing cigar guy’s raised fist heading towards him, Pirate jerked in Joel’s grip. He managed to duck at the last moment and Joel felt the smack of the fist as it landed on his jaw. Dazed, he staggered back a couple of steps, fighting to keep hold of Pirate and the two of them tumbled to the floor. As he pushed the biker off him, the cavalry finally arrived in the shape of Ed and two other guys, and between them they caught hold of cigar guy.

Angell, still on the floor, glanced around. As she caught sight of Joel, her eyes widened.

‘Shit!’ she muttered, crawling across to where he was sitting. ‘Are you okay?’

He glared at her. ‘I just got thumped in the face, Angell. Do I look okay?’

She stared at him for a long moment, seeming more amused than sorry.

Joel shook his head incredulously. ‘Jeez, Angell! Aren’t you even going to apologise?’

‘Apologise for what?’