A Dedicated Man

TWO

‘So you told him everything then?’

‘I didn’t mean to, Kevin, honest – not your name and all. But it just slipped out.’

Kevin leered and Sally’s expression darkened. She elbowed him in the ribs. ‘You’ve got a filthy mind, you have. It was the time that did it. Twelve fourteen. He could see I hadn’t got a digital watch. Why do you have to wear that silly thing anyway?’

Kevin looked down at his watch as if examining it for faults. ‘I don’t know,’ he said.

‘It beeps every hour,’ Sally went on, her voice softening. ‘No matter what you’re doing.’

Kevin leaned forward and kissed her. She squirmed beneath him and he slipped his hand under her blouse to hold her soft warm breast. Her body was pressed down hard against the ground, and the moist sickly smell of grass filled the air. Insects buzzed and whined all around. Finally, she broke away and gasped for breath. Kevin lay back with his hands behind his head and stared at the deep-blue sky.

‘What did you think of him, then, this hotshot from London?’ he asked.

Sally snorted. ‘Some hotshot. Fancy leaving London to come up here. The bloke must be barmy.’

Kevin turned to face her, leaning on one elbow and sticking a long stalk of grass between his teeth. ‘What did he say?’

‘Didn’t seem very interested, really. He just asked me a lot of daft questions. I don’t know why I bothered. I won’t be so fast to go out of my way and help the police next time, that’s for sure.’

‘What do you mean, “next time”?’

‘I mean if I find out anything else.’

‘Why should that happen? It was only by chance we heard the car. We didn’t even know what it was.’

‘But we do now. Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to know who did it?’

Kevin shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t want to get involved. Leave all that to the police. That’s what they get paid for.’

‘Well, isn’t that a typical small-minded attitude?’ Sally said scornfully.

‘It’s a sensible one, though.’

‘So? It’s no fun being sensible all the time.’

‘What are you getting at?’

‘Nothing. I just might do a bit of snooping on my own, that’s all. I’ve lived here all my life. I ought to know what’s going on in the village.’

‘What can you do that the police can’t?’

‘I don’t know yet, but I bet I can do better than them. Wouldn’t it be exciting if I solved the case for them?’

‘Don’t be an idiot, Sally. We’ve been through this before. You know what I think. It’s dangerous.’

‘How?’

‘What if the killer knew what you were doing? What if he thought you might be getting too close?’

Sally shivered. ‘I’ll be careful, don’t worry. Besides, you never get anywhere if you’re frightened of a bit of danger.’

Kevin gave up. Sally smoothed her skirt and lay on her back again. They were high on the southern slope of the dale, overlooking cross-shaped Gratly and Helmthorpe’s chequerboard pattern of slate roofs. Sally plucked a buttercup and held it to her chin. Kevin took the flower from her hand and trailed it over her throat and collarbone. She shuddered. He kissed her again and put his other hand up her skirt to caress the tender flesh of her thighs just below her panties.

Suddenly Sally heard a sound: a snapping twig or a thwacking branch. She sat up quickly, leaving Kevin with his face in the grass.

‘Someone’s coming,’ she whispered.

A few moments later, a figure appeared from the small copse by the beck side. Sally put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun and saw who it was.

‘Hello, Miss Cartwright,’ she called out.

Penny walked towards them, knelt on the grass and tossed back her hair. ‘Hello. It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ answered Sally. ‘We’re just having a breather. We’ve been walking most of the afternoon.’

‘I used to walk around these parts a lot, too, when I was your age,’ Penny said quietly, almost to herself. ‘It seems like centuries ago now, but it was only ten years. You’ll be surprised how quickly time passes. Enjoy it while you can.’

Sally didn’t know what to say; she felt embarrassed. After an uneasy silence, she said, ‘I’m sorry about your friend, Mr Steadman, really I am. He was a nice man.’

Penny seemed to return from a great distance to focus on her. At first Sally thought the commiseration had gone unheard, but Penny smiled warmly and said, ‘Thank you. Yes, he was.’ Then she got to her feet and brushed the scraps of grass from her long skirt. ‘I must be off, anyway. Mustn’t bore you young people with my memories.’

In silence, Sally and Kevin watched her walk up the hillside with a strong, determined stride. She looked a lonely, wild figure, Sally thought, like Catherine in Wuthering Heights: a woman of the moors, spirit of the place. Then she felt Kevin’s palm against her warm thigh again.