A Brush with Death: A Penny Brannigan Mystery - By Elizabeth J. Duncan Page 0,39
I’m afraid. Perhaps in the future,” she said, “but not just at the moment, thank you.”
“Well, feel free to keep the brochure,” said the young man, with a small gesture at the brochure in her hand. “And, of course, we’ll be here if you change your mind. Good-bye.” And then, for good measure, he said it in Welsh, “Da boch,” and gave her an encouraging nod.
“Da boch,” Victoria dutifully replied and left the premises. A minute later she realized she was still holding the brochure with its beautiful cover art featuring a panoramic view of the brilliant green Conwy Valley.
She tried to push the image of Gareth with the woman to the edge of her mind so she could focus on the meeting with the surveyor. The question, of course, was should she tell Penny she’d seen him. Well, she’d think about that over the course of the day. Arriving at the riverfront property, she opened her briefcase, pulled out a notebook, and tucked the Welsh language brochure inside. The building inspector, wearing a high-visibility bright yellow vest with orange stripes and a blue hard hat, was gazing up at the roof with a worried look on his face and a clipboard cradled in his arms.
“Well, should we have good news or bad news first?” asked Penny. They were seated at her dining room table, take-away Thai cartons spread out before them.
“Let’s have the good news,” said Victoria as she passed the spring rolls to Penny.
“Eirlys was absolutely wonderful! Really capable and so cheerful to have around. I can ask her to do anything and she’s happy to do it. It won’t be long before I can leave her to it. I left her alone in the shop for an hour while I made telephone calls and she just carried right on, seeing to everything. Has really good instincts and judgment, I’d say. Knows how to put the customers at ease. So that’s a positive. What about you?”
Victoria took another bite of pad thai and put down her chopsticks.
“The building’s about what we expected it to be, but the roof and guttering will need to be replaced. Still, apparently there’s no major cracking or movement or structural weakness. Based on his preliminary findings, the surveyor says he can recommend that we go ahead and make an offer—but to allow at least thirty thousand for the roof repairs. Oh, and there’s something wrong with the duct work. A blockage of some sort. Could be anything . . . old rats’ nest, maybe. But that’ll need sorting.”
“Well, that’s good news, surely?” said Penny. “You don’t look very cheery about it. I feel a ‘but’ coming. Is there a ‘but’ coming?”
Victoria shook her head and was unable to look Penny in the eye. She picked up her wineglass and inspected its contents.
“What is it?” prompted Penny. “You’ve got me really worried now. Has something happened?”
Victoria set down her wineglass and sighed.
“Look,” she said, “I don’t want to upset you, and I wasn’t even sure if I should mention it, but I know what you’re like and I think you’d want to know.”
Penny’s eyes widened and she leaned forward.
“What? Tell me. Whatever it is, just tell me. Please.”
“Um, well, it’s just that I saw Gareth coming out of the Red Dragon this morning and, ah, I’m afraid he wasn’t alone.”
In the heavy, awkward silence Penny set down her fork, slumped forward, and looked at the table, resting her hands on her queasy stomach.
“That explains Sunday, I guess,” she said finally. “I’d asked him if he wanted to come to Liverpool with me and he said no, he didn’t fancy it. I thought there was something awkward about it—a distance, a chilliness—and I guess I know why now.”
She raised her shoulders in a protective, dismissive shrug.
“That’s that, then, I guess.”
She dipped and twirled a spring roll in its sauce, took a bite, and then set the rest down.
“You know, I’m suddenly not very hungry,” she said, picking up her napkin and wiping her mouth. “I’m going to put the kettle on. Be back in a few minutes.”
Victoria waited. Some time passed before she heard the sound of water running and the kettle filling. Penny returned, wearing a weak, apologetic smile and wreathed in disappointment. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was clutching a tissue. She glanced at it, then stuffed it in her pocket before she sat down.
“Right, then. Let me tell you what I’ve learned about Alys.”