AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Out of the corner of Callum’s eye, he caught the young woman with the big brown eyes almost imperceptibly turn her head. Was she listening to the conversation? He smiled.
Unfortunately, he realised too late that the very young lady standing in front of him had taken that smile as an invitation to ask, ‘Are you, like, single? Because I am, and you’re really cute.’
Callum stared at her as she cocked her head to one side and continued fiddling with her hair. She said, ‘Would you like to go out with me?’
He should have been taken aback at how forward she was being, but he was used to girls coming on to him all the time in LA.
‘I just can’t believe how much you sound like that guy too.’
‘Ahem,’ Callum coughed into his hand, and lowered his voice, trying to disguise his Scottish accent, although he knew it was a bit late for that. ‘Look, I’m just getting over a break-up, so although, yeah, I’m single, I’m not really available right now, if you get my drift.’
Even though he had been eyeing the other young woman, the one sitting alone, what he was saying was in fact true. He just wished he didn’t have to spell it out in the middle of a café. But he wanted to let her down gently.
She shrugged. ‘It’s because I’m too young, isn’t it?’
Callum pursed his lips. It was true, she was young, but even if she’d been ten years older, she still wouldn’t have been his type. Callum kept that thought to himself, and just nodded. ‘Yeah, I’m afraid so,’ trying his best to look disappointed.
She flicked her long hair over her shoulder, as if to sayyour loss, turned on her heel, and strutted back to the counter.
Callum sighed into his coffee. So much for a discreet coffee and croissant before starting on the bookshop. He glanced out of the side window, down the high street, and caught sight of a black and white cat walking by in the direction of Cobblers Yard. ‘Seriously!’ Although Dickens was just a cat, he was a bit of a rascal. It made Callum wonder what he might get up to alone in the bookshop while he was gone.
Callum gulped down his coffee, wrapped his croissant in a paper serviette, and joined the queue at the counter. He was served by another young woman, who refreshingly didn’t give him a second glance when he asked for the bill.
Chapter 40
Callum stepped out of the café and followed Dickens. The cat started to quicken his pace, albeit sedately, but keeping ahead of him all the same. ‘Oh, no you don’t,’ said Callum, quickening his pace too. Before Callum broke into a run, feeling very foolish for chasing after a cat, he suddenly realised he had the key. He slowed, remembering that Dickens had been waiting at the shop door the previous day to be let in. Callum grinned thinking,Go on, then – I’ll still get in first.
Callum rubbed his forehead, suddenly recalling that he’d left the cat in the shop the previous night, and locked up.
He’d had too many beers before he went to bed, virtually drinking himself to sleep, and the coffee was only just starting to kick in. ‘How did you get out?’ he asked Dickens.Damn, he thought,there must have been a window open. Unless ...Callum quickened his pace again. ‘I’m sure I locked up.’ He knew he had been tired when he’d left.What if I didn’t lock up, and someone has been in the shop while I’ve been gone?He looked at the cat, and exhaled, muttering under his breath, ‘Oh, god. Someone broke in.’
Callum caught an older couple giving him a funny look as he strode by at pace, talking to himself. Callum shut his mouth, but that didn’t stop the train of thought.Why would someone even try the door, let alone walk inside if there was a ‘closed’ sign in the window?
Callum rushed down the street, thinking of what he might find, and why it hadn’t occurred to him when he was woken by the cat. He was half-asleep, that was the problem. He followed Dickens, who despite his advanced years managed to stay several paces ahead. As they both turned down the narrow lane, Callum could see the bookshop in Cobblers Yard. The door was closed. As he approached, nothing seemed amiss. The window display was just the same – cobwebs and all.
He tried the door and let out a huge sigh of relief when he discovered it was just as he’d left it – locked. He glanced at Dickens, who was sitting by the door, and frowned at the cat, thinking,I don’t get it. If you got out by an open window, why not just enter that way too?
Dickens meowed at him and turned his little head towards the door.
Callum grinned. ‘Ah, I see.’ He’d forgotten that Dickens was an old cat.Why would he jump through a window if he didn’t have to? He’s a smart cat.
Callum put the key in the lock and was about to step inside when he had a feeling he was being watched. He glanced about him and spotted an old lady standing in the window of the charity shop across the yard. At least, he thought it was an old lady. Or was it a mannequin, cleverly disguised in their charity shop finest?
It wasn’t a mannequin. The old lady stepped forward, a hand clutching her chest. Callum stared at her. Was she having a heart attack? Her mouth was wide open. She seemed to be having difficulty catching her breath.
Callum left the key in the door and rushed over. As he approached the shop, staring at her, he realised something definitely wasn’t right. He threw open the door, which banged against the inside wall, making a lady he spotted behind the counter at the end of the shop jump. ‘Good heavens, young man, where’s the fire?’
‘Thewhat?’
‘It’s an expression. Is everything all right?’
‘No. There’s a lady in the window, an old lady. I think she’s having a heart attack.’
‘What?’
Callum was already rushing to her aid. He caught her elbow as her knees buckled beneath her. Fortunately, there was a stool in the window display. ‘Here, let me help you sit down.’ He had an arm around her waist, and eased her on to the stool while he shouted at the other lady as she approached, ‘Quick, call an ambulance!’
Callum turned to the lady sitting on the stool. He knelt in front of her. ‘Where’s the pain? Is it in your chest, your arm?’
