Chapters (49)
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Also by Graham Hurley
- LIMELIGHT
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- AFTERWARDS
All of these people are incomers, DFLs, and between them – according to Evelyn – they can scarcely summon a decade in residence, yet I get the feeling that Budleigh has settled on them in some unfathomable way. They’ve formed little circles of like-minded buddies, refer to the town’s butcher by his Christian name, agree how lucky they are to have the best fish and chip shop, and the best literary festival, on the south coast, and argue about the toughest hole on the course beyond the picture windows. They might have been here forever, I marvel, and I’m guessing very few of them will ever leave.
‘Budleigh?’ Mitch has re-joined us, and on the evidence of his little tour of the bar I’ve asked him what he makes of Evelyn’s new home. ‘It’s a state of mind,’ he mutters. ‘It’s monied, it’s nice to look at, and I’m betting the house prices have dug a moat around the place. If you want to settle down and turn your back on all the other shit that’s going on, you could do a lot worse. These people know what they’re about. They’re used to making their own decisions. I bet some of them are risk-takers, too, and that gets in the blood.’
‘So, what did you talk about?’
‘Your French friend, mainly. It’s hard not to.’
‘And?’
‘There’s a big thumbs-up for that guy of hers. The one who did a runner. No one seems too bothered about how she ended up buried on the top of the cliff, but I get the feeling they think he made the right decision.’
‘By doing a runner?’
‘By helping her die. That’s an assumption, of course, but these people have been around a bit. One or two of them knew him personally. Said he was bloody difficult but always his own man. Coming from these people, that’s a compliment, of course. Fair, do you think?’
‘Very. Especially the difficult bit.’
Nathan joins us with a bottle of wine and four glasses. The last half hour has put him in a new light. I shared this thought with Evelyn when he was busy hosting Mitch and she thinks his previous gaucheness was down to not knowing quite how to cope with me. This might be a compliment. If it is, I’m not sure I altogether agree with her, but either way it doesn’t matter. There’s roast beef on the menu, medium rare, and Evelyn can’t wait.