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Back Thin Air Save as PDF
Chapters (53)
  1. Title page
  2. Dedication page
  3. Contents
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. By Ann Cleeves
  53. Copyright page

‘I’m not sure. Perhaps.’ Perez drank the coffee. He thought Fran would have loved it here. She’d have charmed the waiter, as Eleanor obviously had. ‘Did she come here with her husband?’

‘A couple of times. Mostly for lunch, not dinner, and then they were always in a hurry. No time to drink coffee and chat.’ The waiter smiled.

‘And you’re sure that it was her husband?’

The man nodded. ‘Strong man, square face. Very short hair. Besides, Eleanor introduced him.’

‘Did she come here with any other men?’

This time there was no immediate reply.

‘It’s important,’ Perez said. ‘I’m trying to find out who killed her. If it’s not relevant nobody else need know.’

‘She came one evening with a man,’ the waiter said. ‘Could have been anyone. A colleague from work.’

‘But she often came with colleagues.’ Perez drained the coffee. ‘This must have been different or you wouldn’t have remembered.’

‘She was different. Like a little girl. Nervous.’ He smiled again.

‘And the man? What can you tell me about him?’

The man shrugged in a return to the Gallic performance. ‘It was very busy. Bad weather, and everyone wanting to get out of the rain. I didn’t notice.’

‘You were fond of her. You would have noticed.’

They were both looking out of the window rather than at each other, but the tension increased.

‘I think he was younger than her. A good-looking man. And she was nervous to be with him. Or anxious, perhaps that’s a better word. That’s all I can tell you.’

Perez wasn’t sure that was true, but he knew it was all he was going to get today. He stood up and paid his bill. ‘Who paid that night?’ If the man had paid there might be a record of his credit card.

‘Eleanor.’ The waiter paused. ‘When they were leaving they argued about it and Eleanor said. “Just think about it, will you?” It seemed to matter very much to her, whatever she was asking him. Then they went out into the night. He held an umbrella over her head, but she walked ahead of him into the rain.’

‘Did you ever see him again?’

The man shook his head. ‘Eleanor came in after that. The last time was a week ago and she had her breakfast as usual. But I never saw him again.’