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Kim tried not to show her reaction. He was right about what she’d think. Scaring his own wife for such reasons was pathetic.
‘From day one my mates wouldn’t leave it alone. At work, down the pub. It was relentless. “Ask your missus for the lottery numbers.” “Who’s gonna win the match on Saturday?” I thought it’d grow old but it never did; in fact it got worse cos sometimes they insulted her.’
His right hand curled around his left fist. ‘Lost more than one friendship over it.’
And not just through words, she thought, realising from his unconscious body language that he had defended her physically on occasion.
‘I just thought we’d all be happier if she stopped doing it. I asked her to give it up and do something else, but she refused.’
Kim would have liked to point out that it was her career that had brought them together in the first place.
For a moment Kim considered the fact that Sandra had been a psychic before they’d met, and yet she’d been asked to give it up because it was causing him embarrassment with his buddies and his daughter some teasing at school.
‘I thought if I scared her a bit she’d stop doing it. I knew she wasn’t in danger.’
Kim chose not to mention that Sandy was dead and that she’d been in danger from someone.
‘She never even mentioned the messages,’ he said, shaking his head.
‘She wouldn’t have. It would only have given you more ammunition,’ Kim offered.
That realisation seemed to help him not one bit.
Nicola’s face was a picture of mixed emotions. Clearly, she adored her father but the disappointment in her eyes was clear.
‘Okay,’ Kim said, standing. ‘We’ll be in touch when we have anything further.’
They saw themselves out and Kim was about to speak when her phone rang. Her blood ran cold.
‘Don’t say it, Keats,’ she said, answering the call.
‘Not saying it isn’t going to make it any less real, but while you’ve got your fingers in your ears, you might want to start heading towards Lanesfield.’
Damn it. His summons only ever meant one thing.
FIFTY-THREE
‘What business could you possibly have back here?’ Janice Sharpe asked, opening the door of her Hollytree home.
‘May I come in?’
She hesitated and then stepped aside.
Despite the fact she’d made the home as comfortable as possible, Penn still felt the same injustice he’d felt the day before. This woman had lost her real home through no fault of her own. It wasn’t even as if she’d been widowed and she’d been given the chance to maintain it on her own. It had literally been gifted to someone else without her agreement.
‘I’m sorry to intrude again but do you still have the paperwork?’ Penn asked.
‘Paperwork?’ she asked, moving into the kitchen.
Penn realised he’d made his usual mistake of thinking the person with him was up to date on the thoughts in his head.
‘Sorry, the agreement that your husband signed.’
‘I have no idea where—’
‘I know where it is,’ Tanya said from the doorway, startling him. He hadn’t heard her approach.
She disappeared from view. Penn wanted to offer the woman something, anything that might give her a little peace, but after what she’d divulged the day before, he knew the pain was still raw.
