Page 52 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

‘No one’s leaving,’ Maddie said firmly. ‘We all make mistakes. It’s what we do afterwards that defines us.’ She looked at me. ‘I’m going to tell Nour about the potential addiction, too.’

I didn’t tell her that Nour had been the one to come up with that particular theory. I took a deep breath. ‘While we’re confessing things, I’m not a hundred percent sure my grandmother is dead. In fact, the head of the Nightshades said she was definitely alive. I’m not certain I believe her but I can’t think why she’d bother to lie to me about it either.’

Nour blew out a breath. ‘That’s heavy.’

‘It’s going to get heavier,’ Maddie warned.

‘And on that note, I’m off,’ I told them. ‘I need to work out what to do next about the cup and the grimoire. I need the walk, so I’ll leave you here. See you later, ladies.’ I called Eva and stalked out of the door, leaving them to talk.

I’d been walking for about ten minutes when my phone rang. An involuntary smile crossed my face.

‘Good morning, beautiful,’ Fraser said, as I answered the call. There was something about the way he called me beautiful that actually made me believe it.

‘Good morning yourself,’ I replied. ‘What are you up to?’

‘Nothing planned this morning,’ he admitted. ‘But this afternoon I’m going to look at an old restaurant off the high street, see if it’s possible to bring it back to life. How’s your morning been so far?’

‘Interesting,’ I said ruefully. ‘I thought I had a lead but it turns out I was very, very wrong.’

‘That sounds rough.’

‘It wasn’t exactly great. We accused Nour’s sister of stealing the cup and that didn’t go down well. It turns out her sudden flare of power is due to pregnancy.’

‘Ah.’ He paused. ‘Well, becoming an auntie is lovely news for Nour.’

‘She doesn’t get on with Farah at the best of times, and I totally made it ten times worse.’

‘Don’t go blaming yourself,’ Fraser said firmly. ‘It was a logical conclusion.’ He changed the subject. ‘I was wondering if you’d like to come over tonight? I’ll cook dinner again?’

I smiled. I loved that he was doing the literal opposite of ‘treat ’em mean, keep ’em keen’. There were no games between us; he was showing me how much he wanted to see me, and I loved that he valued me so much. ‘I’d love that, but you cooked dinner for me yesterday.’

‘I enjoy cooking,’ he confessed. ‘And most selkies have the urge to look after their … girlfriend,’ he finished lamely.

I grinned. ‘You can call me your mate, if you want to. We’re not there yet, but I know it’s the closest term to what I am to you.’

‘Thank you,mo chridhe. Seven-ish? Work dependent, of course, in case you get called into some big important case or find some new leads to follow.’

‘Seven-ish would be great,’ I replied. ‘Barring any unforeseeable hiccups.’

‘Sure.’

‘Great.’

There was a slight pause at the end of the line as if one of us might add something else, but neither of us did. Instead I blurted out goodbye and hung up, timing it perfectly with my arrival at the beach.

Fran and her ice-cream cart were situated there and as usual she had a small queue of customers, though it was the ones at the front that I recognised. Scarlett was ordering a double scoop for a woman in a wheelchair whom I recognised from the photos in her home.

Scarlett looked pale, a little shocked and off her game; I guessed the whole affair with Archer had shaken her more than she liked to admit. Her mother looked frail but she was laughing, her eyes alight with joy. A warm sense of satisfaction filled me.Ihad done that; if I’d managed to spread even a little bit of kindness in the world, that was enough.

For a second I thought about going over and talking to them, but I changed my mind. They had little time left together and all of it was precious, so instead I headed to the shop to speak to Gwen. Maybe she could give me the names of some other regular customers I could look into;customers who might have realised what the Cup and the Grimoire really were.

It took a couple of minutes after stepping inside for Gwen to appear. ‘Oh, it’s you again,’ she said, her tone nasal with annoyance. ‘I thought you’d abandoned me like the police did.’

‘Not at all.’ I deliberately kept my tone even. ‘I’ve been busy following up leads.’

‘You’ve got something?’ she asked hopefully.

‘The lead didn’t pan out, but it’s another avenue of inquiry crossed off,’ I admitted. ‘Yanni told you about Archer?’

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