BooksBarbecue
Back The Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
  78. Keep Reading …
  79. Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
  80. About the Author
  81. Books by Lisa Stone
  82. About the Publisher

Jan stared at her and thought she must have misheard. ‘He was in here just now. You were talking to him.’

‘No,’ Lillian laughed. ‘That was Robert Jarvis. They look similar from a distance. But Robert is happily married with three children.’

‘Oh.’ Jan felt foolish.

‘You’re not the only one to make that mistake. There’s a few round here that look similar. Camile does. Have you met her?’

‘No, Chris gave me the keys to the cottage.’

Jan thought back to the photographs of Chris and Camile and how alike and compatible they’d appeared.

‘Why did Camile and Chris split?’ Jan asked, tucking the meter money and coffee into her bag.

‘I’m really not sure,’ Lillian said. ‘I’m sorry it didn’t work out on Wednesday. A nice girl like you. I’ll tell Chris off when I see him.’

Jan smiled. ‘That’s kind, but probably best not to say anything. I think he already has someone else.’

‘Not as far as I know,’ Lillian said, surprised. ‘What makes you think that?’

‘I saw him yesterday while I was walking Tinder in the woods. He was with someone called Anne.’

‘Anne?’ Lillian asked, puzzled. ‘I’ve no idea who that could be. The only Anne I know is a local midwife and she’s not Chris’s type.’

‘It doesn’t matter, perhaps they’re just friends.’

‘Possibly.’ Lillian shrugged, clearly still slightly baffled. ‘Bye then, love. Take care.’

‘Bye,’ Jan said and left the store. Perhaps they were just friends, Jan thought, but that didn’t excuse Chris’s weird behaviour on Wednesday evening.

THIRTY-TWO

Friday morning finally drew to a close and at 12.30 Ian stood and took his jacket from the back of his chair.

‘Are you coming to Rocco’s for lunch?’ Mike, a work colleague, asked, also standing. They sometimes went to the café, either eating in or taking out as did others from the office.

‘Not straight away,’ Ian said. ‘I’ll catch you up. I’ve a few things to do first.’

‘OK, see you later,’ Mike said, and headed out of the office.

Ian needed to phone Emma first to make sure she was all right. It wasn’t a conversation he could have with someone standing a little way off, waiting. Checking he had his phone and wallet in his jacket pocket, Ian left the office and went down the back stairs. The front of Wetherby Security was close to the main road where traffic noise made talking on a phone near impossible, but at the back there was just the firm’s car park.