Evanly Bodies - By Rhys Bowen Page 0,25

also pleasant enough people. They both looked surprised at being asked to say where they were that morning. Jenkins had a live-in girlfriend who breakfasted with him at eight, and Olive Sloan was dropped off by her husband on his way to work at the hospital in Prestatyn.

Owen Rhys Thomas hadn't arrived home when they called at his house nearby. His wife said he often stopped off at the fitness center after a long day. As to what time he left the house in the morning, Ann Rhys Thomas said that he did the morning school run, leaving the house at seven forty-five to drop off two children at two different schools.

This seemed to rule out all three of them, and Evan was glad when Bragg finally admitted he'd had enough for one day.

Chapter 10

It was after seven when Evan parked his car on the gravel strip beside the pub in Llanfair and set off up the track to his new home. The promised rain had begun-that fine, misty rain that seems peculiar to Wales and Ireland and is described by locals as "a soft day." From the gusts of wind that buffeted his back as he scrambled up the steep slope, Evan suspected that worse was to come tonight.

The sun had long set, and Evan was grateful for the lights that shone out of the cottage windows through the mist. It was a good feeling to know that this place was home, that Bronwen was there, and that supper would be waiting for him. He reached the front door, wiped the worst of the mud from his shoes, and brushed the rain from his jacket before he entered.

"Hello, cariad. One husband dying of hunger," he called, as he stepped inside. There were good cooking smells coming from the kitchen, and a fire was crackling in the grate.

"About time." Bronwen rose from the sofa in front of the fire. "I'd just about given up on you. I thought it was supposed to be more meetings today. Don't tell me they kept you at a meeting this late?"

"The day started off in a meeting and ended in a murder investigation," Evan said. "I've been put on a new Major Crimes Team out of HQ, and we were sent out right away to cover the murder."

Bronwen had come to meet him and threw her arms around his neck. "Evan, that's wonderful. I'm so proud of you." She kissed him firmly on the lips.

"I'm not so sure how wonderful it will be," he said. "The DI is going to be an absolute bugger to work with, but if I get that kind of reception every time you're proud of me-" He drew her to him and started to kiss her hungrily.

"Evan!" She pulled away from him. "Hold on a minute before you get carried away. We've got a visitor."

"What?" Evan looked around the room for the first time. Jamila rose from the low chair on the far side of the fire where she had been sitting.

"Oh hello, Jamila," Evan said. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. Sut wyt ti?" he asked in Welsh.

Jamila attempted a smile. "Not so good, Mr. Evans."

"Jamila's had some startling news, to say the least," Bronwen said. "She came straight up here to tell us."

"Bad news, Jamila?"

"Terrible, Mr. Evans. Absolutely terrible." He could see now that she had been crying. "I've just found out something really awful is going to happen to me."

"What is it?"

Jamila gave a hopeless glance to Bronwen.

"Jamila's family plans to take her to Pakistan to marry her off to a man more than twice her age," Bronwen said. "A man she's never even met."

"Surely not?" Evan shook his head in disbelief. "I could believe that your brother might want to do something like that, but your father seems like a sensible man, perfectly westernized in his ways."

"You'd have thought so, wouldn't you?" Jamila pressed her lips together to prevent herself from crying again before she went on. "But now he's turned into the worst kind of old-fashioned Muslim father, practically overnight. Rashid was spying on me, you see. I stayed at my friend Rhian's house to work on a school project, and some boys from our class stopped by to say hello. There was nothing wrong with it. They're nice boys. We just had some soft drinks and chatted. But Rashid made it sound as if I'd tricked our parents and gone there deliberately to drink with boys. So now I overheard Daddy and Mummy