The Cold Light of Mourning - By Elizabeth J. Duncan Page 0,92
the inside pocket of his suit coat.
“You look very nice,” he said unable to resist giving her lightly freckled décolletage a quick once-over. “Is that what you’re wearing, though, or is there something else that should go over it?”
Penny looked down, placed her hand on her chest, and started to laugh.
“Stop looking and help me up,” she said, “and I’ll finish getting dressed.”
“Good,” said Davies. “And then you can tell me where you got these.”
“I thought we had a deal that we weren’t going to discuss the case,” teased Penny.
“We aren’t,” said Davies. “Not after you’ve told me where you got them, who took them, and why we’re just seeing them now. And then we won’t discuss it anymore.”
The retirement party was in full swing when they arrived. As they made their way through the crowded room several older men called out to Davies, who smiled broadly as he led Penny to a table where Bethan and three others were seated.
Bethan’s face lit up when she saw Penny and she gestured to the empty seat beside her. Davies pulled out the chair and when Penny was seated, took his place on her other side.
“Bethan likes you very much,” Davies said, leaning closer to Penny to be heard above the background din of crowd noise. “I think she’ll be sorry when this case is wrapped up and she might not get to see so much of you.” Penny smiled at him, and then turned to Bethan.
When the dinner and speeches were over, and as the upbeat sound of Rod Stewart’s “Maggie Mae” started up, Davies led her onto the dance floor. As they danced, they sang the familiar words along with the rest of the dancers. After a few upbeat songs, the opening piano sequence of Carly Simon’s title song from The Spy Who Loved Me slowed down the pace and they turned toward each other.
He put his arm around her waist and as they moved gently back and forth in time to the music, she looked up at him.
“I was thinking during dinner that it’s rather fun to be in this company,” she said, gesturing around her. “Almost everyone here is a police officer and yet everyone looks so normal and ordinary. You’d never know.”
Davies pulled her closer and she relaxed in his arms, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the moment. She breathed in the scent of him, a masculine blend of a garden after the rain and cigar smoke.
Around midnight, they said their good-byes and drove home. As they made their way along the quiet deserted road, Penny looked over at him in the pale light from the dashboard.
“It was a great evening,” she said. “Thanks for taking me.”
He nodded and reached for her hand.
“I was really proud to walk in there with you,” he said. “You looked,” he took his eyes off the road for a moment and glanced at her, “really lovely.”
They pulled up in front of the shop and Davies switched off the ignition. They sat for a moment and then turned to each other.
“Are you coming up?” Penny asked.
“Stay where you are for a second,” he replied. “I’ll get the door for you.”
Penny looked at her watch and groaned. Seven-thirty on Saturday morning and the shop had to be open in an hour and a half. She rolled over and then, as memories from the night before tumbled into place, she threw back the bedclothes and smiled. She thought about the longing in his eyes when he looked at her, the warmth of his embrace and the way he had kissed her, at first gently and then, with insistence. She realized how excited she was at the thought of seeing him again, but just as she was mentally getting ready to reach for him, she heard the sound of running water and was jolted back to the reality of Saturday morning.
She pulled on her dressing gown and walked into the kitchen where Victoria was filling the kettle.
“Morning,” she said.
“Hi,” said Victoria. “Well, you certainly look like a woman who had a good night!”
“It was great,” said Penny, leaning on the counter. “Remember when you were eighteen and having the best night of your life and you just didn’t want it to end? It was like that. I didn’t want it to end, and I don’t think he did, either.”
Victoria opened the tea caddy and held out a tea bag to Penny who