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‘What the hell?’
14
The four adults stared in silence at the open suitcase. Someone had to speak first, but Holly had lost her voice.
‘Is that yours?’ Caroline took the pocketknife from Tyler’s hand and prodded at the top of the suitcase. The penknife was currently in contact with a series of magazines. The type of magazines found on the top shelf, normally with black plastic obscuring the cover images.
‘Of course they’re not mine,’ Holly said indignantly. ‘I’ve obviously picked up someone else’s suitcase.’
‘You seemed pretty sure it was yours before.’ Tyler mocked.
Ignoring him, Holly grabbed the penknife from Caroline and used it to shift the magazines over onto the other side of the suitcase, displaying the contents beneath. Using the end of the blade, she picked out two pairs of red speedos, a selection of Hawaiian print shirts, and some other items that were far less wholesome.
‘I guess handcuffs are heavier than you would have expected,’ Caroline smirked. ‘Looks like someone was planning on having some fun on this trip.’
‘Someone who probably has my suitcase.’
‘Please put that down and wash your hands before you touch anything else in this house.’ Evan spoke to Tyler with a tone of deadly seriousness. ‘We need to put all this back and contact the airline. Hopefully your suitcase is still there. I’ll ring them now.’
As Evan packed up the mystery person’s belongings, Caroline rested a hand on Holly’s shoulder.
‘You okay? I’m sure Evan will sort it.’
‘I know. It’s a pain, that’s all.’
Holly didn’t want to feel so crestfallen, but she had packed her nicest things in that suitcase. They may not have been designer brands, or particularly expensive, but a couple of those dresses she’d had for years, and they had more memories attached to them than any other outfits she owned.
‘Come on.’ Caroline took Holly’s hand and pulled her towards the stairs. ‘I’m sure between the five of us girls, we can mix and match enough stuff for you to get by until your luggage shows up. Also, I think I might need a shower after seeing all that.’
While Caroline and Holly weren’t the same size, Naomi was almost an exact match. Never, Holly decided, would she judge someone for over-packing again.
‘I plan on wearing these two when we go out on the yacht,’ Naomi said, taking two dresses and corresponding swimsuits from the pile and promptly hanging them up in the wardrobe. ‘But help yourself to anything else you want to wear.’
Holly studied the garments. This wasn’t the first time she’d picked something to wear from a selection of clothes that were well out of her budget. The same thing had happened on her first Christmas back in Bourton and that time, the clothes in question had been ball gowns, belonging to a fiery old lady called Verity. A friend who had now passed away.
Shaking off the memory, Holly focused on the task at hand.
‘Is it okay if I borrow this one?’ She picked up a plain black bikini with a low-cut neck. It wasn’t a style she normally chose, but given the situation, beggars could not be choosers.
‘Sure. You might as well take another one too.’ After a brief rummage, Naomi handed Holly a canary-yellow number. ‘I packed six more. And don’t forget some sun dresses. You’re going to need some for waterskiing later.’
‘You packed seven bikinis?’ Holly questioned, skipping over the fact that waterskiing in a sundress sounded both impractical and possibly dangerous.
‘And three bathing suits. Dress for your mood, right?’
‘I guess so.’
Once dressed, Holly headed downstairs, intending to check out the pool, though when she reached the bottom of the stairs, Evan was there, waiting for her.
‘So,’ he said, ‘do you want the good news or the bad news?’
‘Bad news first, always.’ It was a rule she lived by. After all, there was no point in getting good news first, if the whole time you were wondering what the bad news was going to be.
‘Okay so the bad news is that your bag is not there. It seems that the owner of this one made the same mistake as you and took yours with him.’
‘And there’s good news?’
‘The good news is that the person I spoke to at the airport says when things like this happen, people normally return the suitcase within a twelve-hour period. I’ve ordered a taxi already to take this one back to the airport, and the woman there has my number so they as soon as the other one is returned, they will call us, and I can send another taxi to pick it up.’
