Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (16 page)

‘
Your compliments cause me to be lost for words which is rare for me.
’

‘
I
’
m glad.
’

His smile turned her to jelly.
‘
You have to get to work
,
I have to call my boss and write a story about this possible murder. Ah
,
there goes the phone again.
’
This time she answered it as she mouthed
‘
sorry
’
to Jake.
‘
Hi Nick. Yes
,
I know
,
I saw. Yes
,
I
’
m feeling better now
,
thank you.
’
She rolled her eyes and wondered how she would get away with her sickie.
‘
I
’
ll call you when I
’
ve done some investigating and get back to you.
’
She hung up.
‘
I have to get home.
’

‘
Let
’
s go
,
’
Jake said.

She surrendered and he walked her home. In what felt like a flash in time
,
they were standing outside Grace
’
s terrace house
,
trying to part ways to undertake their urgent work.

‘
How many times have you been to Sydney?
’
she asked
,
stalling him.

‘
This is the first.
’

‘
You
’
re kidding? I didn
’
t know.
’

‘
Yeah
,
the pictures don
’
t do it justice. It
’
s a magical place.
’

‘
H
ere we are
,
’
Grace said.

‘
This is where the legendary Grace Rose lives. I hadn
’
t even noticed we had stopped walking and were standing outside your house.
’

‘
Ah
,
yes.
’
She felt like a sixteen-year-old school girl.

‘
Grace
,
it
’
s been delightful
,
despite the bad news. And – you
’
re beautiful
,’
he gave her a wink.
‘
On the outside
,
too.
’

‘
You
’
re kind.
’
She felt like doing a twirl.

‘
I give you a compliment that I
’
ve never said to anyone else and I
’
ve been waiting for the right time to say and you tell me I
’
m kind?
’

‘
I haven
’
t met a lot of kind men
,
and yes
,
you
’
re kind. I like it.
’

‘
When do I get to see you again? Do you want me to take a look at the information The Voice delivered to you under such unusual circumstances
and see if I can help you with it?
’

‘
If you have the time.
’

‘
I wouldn
’
t offer if I didn
’
t. How about tomorrow then?
’
 

‘
Or next week?
’
She was scared at the pace they had moved.
What happened to sticking to my vow?

‘
Next week? I can
’
t wait that long. What
’
s a boy from out of town supposed to do all weekend in a big city on his own?
’

‘
Ah
,
that
’
s my problem is it? How
‘
bout work?
’
she laughed.

‘
I can fit in a few other things and you could help me out. Remember we had plans to go to a museum
,’
he gave her his saddest expression.

‘
I thought today
’
s date replaced the museum one?
’
She hadn
’
t mentioned how much she hated strolling through museums looking at artefacts.

‘
No
,
today was an extra
,’
he said.
‘
And it
’
s still on. Besides
,
someone else could break the story before then.
’

‘
Oh
,
you look like a little lost puppy dog. And you
’
re right about the story. How
‘
bout tomorrow morning we meet up and I
’
ll show you all the information
,’
she hoped he would kiss her goodbye but she also hoped he wouldn
’
t kiss her.

‘
I
’
ll call you soon
,
don
’
t think I won
’
t. We have to sort out times. For now
,
I have to go
,’
he leaned forward
,
inhaled deeply as his lips brushed her cheek. Then his hand caressed her waist
,
pulling her towards him.
‘
Your hair smells like the ocean.
’

There he goes again.

He turned and walked away without another word.

What a couple of life-changing hours
. She pushed the key into her front door and opened it. She could not stop smiling. Thoughts of not getting involved and not falling for this surprising man had disappeared. When she felt his hand on her waist pulling her to him
,
she lost all sensibilities and longed for him to kiss her right there
,
right then. When he held off
,
she wondered why.

Grace
’
s phone rang. She answered without looking at the screen.

‘
Hi
,
it
’
s Jake.
’

‘
Hi
,’
she said surprised. She thought it would be Nick hurrying her up and reminding her about the de Silva story.

‘
What about eight in the morning? I
’
ll bring your favourite wake-up drink. What is it?
’

‘
Anything with caffeine in it
,
surprise me.
’

‘
I
’
ll be knockin
’
on your door early
,
get a good night
’
s sleep.
‘
Bye.
’

Grace picked up Shadow
,
gave him a squeeze and twirled.

17

‘
Ye
s
,
Grace
?
’

‘
Nick
,
I
’
m about to follow up on de Silva
’
s death. I
’
ll make a few calls to some regular sources
,
the police and the morgue. It
’
ll be quicker than getting back into the office plus I can watch the breaking news on TV while I
’
m writing the story.
’

‘
Great
,
what
’
s wrong with you? Since when do you take sickies?
’

‘
I
’
m on the mend and will have the story to you soon
,
‘
bye.
’

She looked out the windows to her backyard as she started to think of the lead for the story. The wind had picked up leaving debris in her yard. She also felt a bit ruffled.

With extensive coverage already in the media
,
it would be a short story lucky to make it to page nine in
The Star
’
s evening edition. However
,
it would be placed as lead story of the paper
’
s web site as soon as Nick had checked it.

Grace knew it was a matter of time before the printed evening paper became obsolete. She hastened to write the story and sent it through for the online and print edition. By tomorrow his death would be old news.
Sad but true.

However
,
she pondered what happened to court cases when the defendant died.

She sent a text to Nick.
‘
The story
’
s done. I
’
ve sent it through to the sub-editors.
’

I
’
m sure his adjournment is linked to his demise.

18

Grace poure
d
her favourite drink
,
a glass of chardonnay with mineral water and her standard three ice cubes
,
then sat down in front of the television. She placed her drink on the table
,
took off her jacket
,
pulled her wind-blown hair back into a ponytail
,
threw her shoes under the coffee table and picked up the remote. Shadow jumped onto her lap and began to purr as he pushed the top of his head into the palm of her hand. She loved the quiet time at the end of the day between work finishing and the evening starting. It felt like a serene
,
twilight moment where everything slowed down which allowed stillness for a brief period of time.

‘
Shadow
,
lonely are you mate? Come here
,
good boy
,’
she patted her lap.
‘
What
’
ll we watch? Let
’
s see what else is happening in the world today.
’

Her furry friend started to pummel her legs. He needed a comfortable bed he could curl up in. Grace sank into the cosy lounge with silky cushions cradling her and scanned the channels. She soon forgot the idiot box
,
dropped the remote and took a sip of her drink with one hand. She continued stroking Shadow with the other. The journalist surveyed her living room with a sense of satisfaction. Grace loved this room. It emitted a sense of comfort and quietness when you were in it. It was a small area with a large window overlooking tall trees in the back yard lending an impression of space to the room.

She gazed at the ceiling with a blank expression as her mind wandered to the events of the day. With the TV droning in the background
,
Grace fantasised about Jacob. Jacob Williams. Jake
,
as he liked to be called. Jake. She let it roll off her tongue a few times. If Jake was what he wanted
,
Jake is what he would get.

Her thoughts drifted to the afternoon
’
s events. She closed her eyes. She was imagining the ferry ploughing into the swell on its way back to Circular Quay
,
the wind whipping through her hair as they stood together. The overcast sky was threatening a thunderstorm. The bow dipped almost over its edge into the waves
,
spraying water washed over them as they held firm to the railing. As adrenalin coursed through her veins
,
Grace squealed with delight. She put her arms out and stood at the tip of the bow like Rose in
Titanic.
She could sense Jake watching her.

‘
I think w
e
better go in
,’
he said.

‘
It
’
s typical weather for this time of year
,’
Grace bellowed over the storm and the water that was lashing her face.

She blocked out all the other sounds on the ferry as Jake took her into his arms
,
smothering her neck and face with soft kisses. Her skin was tingling under the dampness from the waves and his touch. Her hair stuck to her face and neck. She was shivering just a little.

‘
I think we should go inside
,’
Jake said.

They walked into the main upper level cabin and people were hanging on to the railings for their lives. Children were cradled in their parents
’
laps and she even saw one man against a window praying. She looked outside and realised the weather was wild and rough. The storm that had begun at sea was now in full glory over the harbour and the city. The loudspeaker advised people to
‘
Sit tight
’
.

Once they were past the heads section
,
miraculously
,
the storm subsided
,
the waters calmed and a sun shower came through the clouds. Streams of light hit the harbour water and created a picture resembling something you would see in an art gallery. Grace felt as if she was half way between this world and heaven. She swore if she looked hard enough she would see angels on the scattered clouds.

Jake
’
s soft
,
gentle eyes and floppy wet hair made him even more appealing. Grace reached out with the back of her hand and caressed the side of his face. He wrapped his hand around her fingers and pulled them towards his lips. He then covered her hand in soft –

Bang bang bang

– kisses and –

bang bang bang.

Grace was pulled out of her dream to the cruel reality of her lounge with Shadow still on her lap.
What was that? Who was doing that awful banging?

‘
Grace
,
open the door. I
’
ve been standing out here banging on it for five minutes. I can hear the TV. I know you
’
re in there.
’

It was Kate. Grace opened the door and made a sweeping movement with her right arm as she bowed. She made sure to hang onto the back of the door with her other hand to stop her from falling over after her sudden rise from the couch.

‘
Man
,
what happened to you?
’
Kate asked.

‘
What do you mean?
’

‘
Your hair
,
your eyes. You look exhausted.
’

‘
I was taking a nap
,
dreaming away
,
’
she said and stared at Kate.
‘
Then I heard this banging on my door. What
’
s up?
’

‘
What
’
s up? Where
’
s your phone? I
’
ve been trying for ages. Remember I was bringing Thai over
,’
she held up a plastic bag full of rice and red curry chicken
,
‘
and we were going to watch a chick flick. You were supposed to pick up some dessert.
’

The girls went into the living room and Grace checked her mobile. It was flat and she noticed her land line phone was off the hook.
That
’
s weird.
She plugged her mobile into its charger and checked the power cord on the other phone.
‘
Shadow must have played with it. Hmph.
’

‘
So
,
couldn
’
t stand the sight of Nick today
,
huh?
’
It was more a statement than a question.

‘
Oh
,
you know what he
’
s like. I
’
ve had late nights and early mornings every day this week and it was time for a personal day.
’

‘
Yeah
,
I get it. How about the Antonio de Silva saga?
’

‘
I know. I
’
ve written the story. I spoke to the cops who gave me some information though I couldn
’
t get hold of his family. Not surprising.
’

‘
News journalism
,
not always fun. Hey
,
did he call?
’

‘
If he didn
’
t
,
I
’
m not going to feel good
,
am I?
’

‘
True. So
,
did he?
’

‘
Who?
’
Grace teased.

‘
Don
’
t
‘
who
’
me. You know who. You might be able to fool everyone else
,
Gracie
,
but don
’
t forget who you
’
re dealing with here. So?
’

‘
Yeah
,
he did
,’
she yawned and smiled at the same time.

‘
He did? When?
’

‘
This morning.
’

Kate looked horrified.
‘
What? When were you going to tell me?
’

‘
Right now. Want all the juicy details?
’
Grace asked.

‘
What do you think? Spill.
’

Kate poured her own drink of straight chardonnay without the ice. She rolled her eyes when Grace asked for a fresh drink in her style.

‘
I can see you rolling your eyes
,’
Grace yelled to Kate in the kitchen.

‘
No you can
’
t. Not even you can see through the backs of peoples
’
heads. Besides
,
I don
’
t know how you can let such a disgusting mixture pass your lips.
’
 

‘
It
’
s not disgusting
,’
she said as Kate handed her friend her drink of choice.

They sat on the couch for an involved
tête-à-tête
. Kate flicked off the TV and sat with one leg underneath her
,
turned to face Grace
,
gave Shadow a pat and took a sip of her wine.
‘
I
’
m ready.
’

Grace immediately launched into specifics about the day. She explained how she was up early and had gone for a jog. She left out the part about meeting The Voice. She said she felt unwell and decided to go back to bed and take the day off.

‘
Gracie
,
what about your early morning meeting?
’