This Body of Death (79 page)

He sought a way to smooth the moment. But he could come up with nothing that didn’t draw further attention to it, so he finally just said to the little girl, “So it’s hedgehogs, is it, Cammie?”

She said, not illogically, “What’s hedgehogs?”

“I mean what you’re liking. Hedgehogs? That’s it? What about ponies? D’you like ponies as well?”

Cammie looked up at her mother, as if to see if she was meant to answer or to hold her tongue. Meredith looked down at her, fondled her rumpled hair, and nodded. “How
do
you feel about ponies?” she asked her.

“I like ’em best when they’re babies,” Cammie said frankly. “But I know I’m not meant to get too close.”

“Why’s that?” Robbie asked her.

“Cos they’re skittish.”

“What’s that mean, then?”

“Means they’re …” Cammie’s brow wrinkled as she thought about this. “Means they’re scared easy. An’ if they’re scared easy, you’ve got to be careful. Mummy says you always’ve got to be careful round anyone scares too easy.”

“Why?”

“Oh, cos they misunderstand, I expect. Sort of …like if you move too fast round them, they c’n think the wrong thing about you. So you got to be quiet and you got to be still. Or move real slow. Or something like that.” She wriggled round again, the better to look up at her mother’s face. “That’s right, isn’t it, Mummy? That’s what you do?”

“That’s exactly right,” Meredith said. “Very good, Cam. You take care when you know something’s scared.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head. She didn’t look at Rob.

Then there seemed to be nothing else to say. Or at least that was what Robbie Hastings told himself. He decided he had done his duty and, all things considered, it was time for him to leave. He stirred on his chair. He said, “So …,” just as Meredith said, “Rob …”

Their eyes met. He felt himself colouring once again, but he saw that she, too, was red in the face.

She said, “Cammie, darling. Will you ask Gran if her lemon cake’s ready? I’d like a piece and I expect you would as well, hmm?”

“Oh yes,” Cammie said. “I
love
lemon cake, Mummy.” She clambered out of the lounge chair and ran off, calling to her grandmother. In a moment, a door slammed shut behind her.

Rob slapped his hands on his thighs. Clearly, she’d given the signal for him to take himself off. He said, “Well. Dead happy you’re all right now, Merry.”

She said, “Ta.” And then, “Funny, that, Rob.”

He hesitated. “What?”

“No one else calls me Merry. No one ever has but you.”

He didn’t know what to say to this. He didn’t know what to make of it either.

“I quite like it,” she said. “Makes me feel special.”

“You are,” he said. “Special, that is.”

“You, too, Rob. You always have been.”

Here was the moment. He saw it clearly, more clearly than he’d seen anything ever. Her voice was quiet and she hadn’t moved an inch, but he felt her nearness and, feeling this, he also felt the air go dead cold round him.

He cleared his throat.

She didn’t speak.

Then on the roof of the garden shed, a bird’s feet skittered.

He finally said, “Merry,” as she herself said, “Will you stay for a piece of lemon cake with me, Rob?”

And ultimately, he saw, the reply was simple. “I will,” he replied. “I’d like that very much.”

ELIZABETH GEORGE
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of fifteen novels of psychological suspense, one book of nonfiction, and three short-story collections. Her work has been honored with the Anthony and Agatha awards, the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and the MIMI, Germany’s prestigious prize for suspense fiction. She lives in Washington State.

www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com

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This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

THIS BODY OF DEATH
. Copyright © 2010 by Susan Elizabeth George. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George, Elizabeth

This body of death / Elizabeth George—1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-06-116088-2

1. Lynley, Thomas (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women detectives—England—Fiction. 3. Women—Crimes against—Fiction. 4. London (England)—Fiction. 5. Great Britain. Metropolitan Police Office. Criminal Investigation Dept.—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3557.E478T48 2010

813'.54—dc22

2009035547

EPub Edition © March 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-199146-2

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