And Melissa will be waiting for you at home by now.’
‘Sure, sure…’ he stuttered as he headed for the door. But he stopped before he embraced the winter evening once again. ‘All I ask is that you think about what I said.’
‘I will. Goodnight, Harvey.’
She waited for him to get safely down the steps before she closed the door. And before Shadow could take all of her attention, she messaged Melissa: Harvey was in a bad way and she wasn’t sure he’d even make it home across The Street in the state he was in.
But when Melissa didn’t reply, she called.
‘He’s pretty drunk,’ Lucy told her. She lay down on the sofa this time. ‘He kept running on about my cousin, about how I shouldn’t get involved with Daniel, how you shouldn’t get behind the wheel when you’ve been drinking.’
‘Oh, God,’ came Melissa’s reply. ‘I’d better make this quick and then see if there’s any sign of him coming down the lane.’
Lucy sat up; she didn’t like where this was heading.
‘I’m not sure it’s his place to go telling everyone about Daniel’s past. Most people around here know what he did when he lived in the Cove but not many know what happened between then and now.’
‘What did happen, Melissa?’
‘The trouble continued for Daniel after he left. I don’t know the full extent of it and I don’t think Carol meant to let it slip that he’d been in trouble with the police. But she did, and now Harvey’s even more angry than he was.’
Lucy’s insides plummeted and she shut her eyes. It wasn’t hard to work out what that trouble was, given Harvey’s outburst. But she had to know for sure. And so she asked for any more details Melissa could possibly pass on – third-hand, fourth-hand, she didn’t care. She just wanted the truth.
And that was when she found out Daniel had been caught drink driving the same way as the person who killed Joanna had been.
And it was unforgiveable.
There was no way anything could happen between them now, and when she felt tears threaten to come she realised how much she’d been hoping it would.
Chapter Nine
Lucy yelped when a spark from the arc welder jumped onto the skin of her forearm. She hadn’t burnt herself in a long while but she was distracted this morning and she hadn’t slept well at all last night after Harvey’s visit and Melissa’s revelation. She’d dreamt about Joanna eating waffles from a truck driven by Daniel, then Joanna’s funeral – except instead of flowers on the grave there had been more waffles and sauce and all the toppings. She’d woken in a sweat and the only way she knew how to handle it was to come down here to the workshop.
She had a swig from the water bottle on the desk and then went back to the bird feeder she’d been working on. The wrought-iron bowl was to dangle from three pieces of iron, joined at the top, each with weaving ivy detailing and leaves; the leaves were the last thing for her to join on before it would be ready for the customer. She finished the project, set it aside, worked on the weathervane for another order, replied to customer emails and handed over completed projects to very happy customers.
With such a long to-do list Lucy skipped a proper sit-down lunch, instead grabbing a couple of slices of toast, and she powered through until she knew she’d done enough for the day. She showered and, with no time to stop, turned her attentions to wrapping family Christmas gifts that she wanted to take to her parents’ place. She’d be there for the big day itself but she’d been so crazy with work she hadn’t visited for a while and, right now, she needed to escape the Cove and get back her equilibrium.
Driving out of the village was like a breath of fresh air for Lucy. She followed country lanes, some still clinging to the frost that had covered the ground in the Cove first thing this morning, deciduous trees bereft of their leaves, evergreens keeping the countryside colour going. Getting away from it all, even if only for a couple of hours, as she made her way to Southwold gave her a huge sense of relief. It was the same feeling she got from keeping busy – it stopped her having to think too much about any of her troubles. And she made her mind up as she drove that