Page 66 of A Spot of Tea
There was no use pretending. Eliza was avoiding him, and everyone else was, too.
Joey had heard them whispering inside the tea shop, and when he peeked through the smudged glass, he saw Eliza’s Granny trying to hide from him, contorting herself in a chair.
He was unwanted. He didn’t know why, but it was time to take the hint.
The air was cool and the wind cut through his jacket as he walked back to Russell’s house. When he reached the thicket of trees between the properties, he turned to look back at the cottage. It was dark except for a single glowing window upstairs.
Joey pulled out his phone and called.
Eliza picked up mid-ring. “Joey?”
Her voice bounced in his ear, soft and strong. “Hey, yeah, hi.”
Eliza cleared her throat. “Is everything okay?”
He looked up. Above him, half of the sky was black with clouds, and the other half glowed an eerie orange. The light filtered through the tangled branches of trees, casting webs of shadows around him. “I think we need to talk.”
She was quiet. The wind rattled the empty branches above. “Okay. Where are you?”
“I was just walking back from the tea shop. Are you there?”
“No.” Quiet for a moment. “I can meet you down at the beach, though.”
His heart leapt. “Okay. I’ll see you in a minute.”
The wind blew against him and he nearly tripped, first over the twisted roots of the trees, then rushing across the beach with the unexpected sinking of his shoes into the dry stones.
A hooded figure emerged from the cottage and grew larger, closing in. A flash of light cracked above him. He saw Eliza’s face rimmed with black fleece.
“Hi,” she said when she reached him. “Looks like it’s going to storm.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t care. His heart raced. “Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in so long.”
A smile flicked at the corner of her mouth. “I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He paused. What was the point of dragging her out here if he wasn’t going to tell the truth? “I really miss you.”
She looked down. “I saw you yesterday. In Anacortes.”
He smiled. “Really? I didn’t see you. Where were you?”
She looked up, locking eyes with him. “I saw you with Stacy.”
He looked up, the last scraps of light overtaken with clouds. “Oh, yeah. Russell sent me to pick up some people, but they found another way to the site. She came up to me and said she needed a ride.”
She peered up at him. “Did she.”
“I tried to get something out of her,” he continued, “but she wouldn’t say a word. Steel trap.”
Eliza pulled her jacket tight over her chest. “Is that the truth, Joey?”
He focused his gaze on her. “Yes. You’d be the first person to know if she told me anything useful.”
“No. I mean about everything.” Her voice softened. “I’m not going to turn you in, you know.”
Waves pulsed closer, one nearly hitting his shoes. “What? Turn me in?”
“Why did you want to work with me, Joey? Why did you want me to help you find the robber?”
