Page 62 of A Good Heart is Hard to Find
13
Dead Again
Cass Leigh keeps them coming thick and fast, with another new release in April, Shock to the Spirits.The covers are quite tasteful compared to the content, and this one certainly gives no inkling of the horrors lurking inside. You either love them or loathe them.
Bookseller
Even after a considerable period of reflection in the peaceful solitude of the graveyard I was stilljust one seething pit of dark writhing emotions, so instead of going home to work I returned to the pub.
It was still quite early after all, the hours of the night being infinitely more elastic than those of the day.
I put my head round the door of the lounge carefully, but there was no sign of either Dante, Jason, or even Charles; only Orla, earnestly perusing the lonely hearts page ofPrivateEye.She looked up, her predatory mauve claws marking a particularly luscious advert.
‘Have they gone?’
‘What, Jason and Dante? Yes, they formed a sort of uneasy alliance after you came in with Max – nice suit, by the way. Armani? – and Jason confessed that he’d bought someminiatures from Jack Craig a couple of weeks ago which he now realized might be from Kedge Hall.’
‘I thought he was lookingshifty about something.’
‘They’ve gone off to look at them, and Dante says he will buy them back at whatever price Jason paid for them if they are his, which is very fair of him, isn’t it?’
‘Very.’
‘So, how is Max? Things looked a bit sticky between you two even before Dante stopped by and spoke to you – and if you don’t tell me what he said to make Max look so furious I willdieof curiosity!’
So I told her, and when she giggled I saw the funny side too, although it didn’t mean I wasn’t still angry with Dante.
‘Max’s face!’ I said. ‘But just wait until I get my hands on Dante Chase, insinuating we’d spent the night together. What was he playing at?’
‘Simple jealousy, I’d say, Cass – and probably with cause! And don’t tell me you two didn’t get up tosomethingthat night at the Hall,because it was absolutely obvious from the moment I saw you together.’
‘Oh hell, was it?’ I said ruefully.
‘It was tome.And then when you were asking me the other day about being attracted to men you didn’t like, I was quite sure.’
‘Oh.’
‘Did you, you lucky dog?’
‘Yes, though I just don’t understand how it happened, except that we’d been drinking this brandy he’d found in the cellar – andI’m certainly never touching the stuff again! – and I must have dozed off on his bed.’
‘On hisbed? What were you doing in his bedroom?’
‘I’m not sure, but I have a vague feeling I might have left my bag up there earlier in the evening and gone up to fetch it before I left for home. Then I woke up in the early hours under a duvet with Dante, with some blurry memoriesof having had one of myghostly dreams in the night; and I have a horrible suspicion that what started out with Dante comforting me turned into me practically jumping on him.’
‘Who wouldn’t?’ she said generously.
‘Yes, but we took an instant dislike to each other!’
‘But it didn’t stop you fancying the pants – literally as it turned out! – off him, did it?’ she pointed out. ‘And you don’t remember him trying to fightyou off, do you?’
‘Well, no. No, I don’t remember any signs of resistance at all. And he was fathoms deep in sleep looking terribly relaxed and peaceful when I sneaked out.’
‘Cass, if you didn’t even leave him a note saying “thanks, you were great – let’s do it again some time” he’s probably extremely piqued. I’m sure he only came in here that first night to try and find you.’
‘But he didn’tcome and find me,’ I pointed out.
‘No, but that was probably because I told him about Max. And then when you two did meet again you both seemed to be pretending that you hardly knew each other, and you were digging your heels in about an absolutely easy, well-paid haunting.’
