Page 46 of A Simple Mistake
“What?”
“I’ve found something.I think it’s Mrs McTavish’s personal blog.”
“Really?I didn’t realise she had a blog.”
“She’s sharing it on her Pinterest feed.Some photos are the same as yours.But…”
“But what?”
“There’s one post here, and it’s… she’s talking about a twin sister.”
“You’re nuts.He’ll never forget.”Nico crossed his arms over his chest, as if to indicate that this was his last word on the matter.
“He’s bound to,” Daniel insisted, squeezing the handle of the basket.An army of ants marched back and forth over his scalp, but having Nico beside him stopped him from hiding in the back when he was here to shop for Gareth’s birthday dinner.“Jack’s thousands of miles away, and he’s busy.You’ve seen how long he takes to answer a text.And Gareth said last night that he’s not sleeping, and you know how he gets then.He won’t remember what day it is.”
Nico took the leeks from Daniel’s hands, and then the basket, too.“Do you think we should call him?Or text?”
“Becausenowyou think he’ll forget?”
“He won’t.But not being home will bug him.And then he’ll blame himself for not solving this case faster.If we tell him we’re making a birthday dinner for Gareth…” He glanced from the basket to Daniel.“We’ll, you’re making dinner, at any rate.But if we tell him…”
Daniel turned from his contemplation of vegetables and wrapped an arm around Nico’s neck.“He won’t be reckless.He can’t have goes at us and then do it himself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.Now make yourself useful.Monkfish or beef?”
“Beef.Why are you even asking that?I know!Remember when you made these thin slices of beef?You fried them so quickly the meat was barely cooked and—”
“You weren’t going to eat it.”
“I know.But once you dip it in the sauce and have wasabi… Gareth loved that.”
Daniel walked the length of the meat counter.Twice.“That’s an excellent idea,” he said and went to buy a slab of beef.
Gareth was already home when they trooped in.He sat in the kitchen, surrounded by wrapping paper, and with an expression on his face Nico couldn’t interpret.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much,” Gareth said, folding the gaudy paper.As he cleared the table, Nico saw boxes with Japanese writing, and he remembered Christmas Eve, when he’d gone with Jack to collect a selection of Japanese whisky for Gareth’s present.
“Did Jack send this?”
“He did.And it must have cost him an absolute mint.”Gareth’s smile was something else.He freed a bottle of Suntory from its box, cracked it open, and poured two fingers into the glass at his elbow.“I may need to fortify myself before I unwrap the other present,” he said, taking a sip.“I can’t read what it says on the box, but I have a sneaky suspicion I know what it is.”
Removing the paper exposed a flat wooden case with metal clasps.Gareth opened the top almost reverentially to reveal the most magnificent set of chef’s knives Nico had ever seen.And judging by Gareth’s awestruck face, he wasn’t the only one.
Even Daniel, who didn’t care about aesthetics as long as his knives were sharp, drew in a deep breath.“Oh, good,” he said a moment later.“You can slice the beef.”
“I wish long-distance blow jobs were a thing,” Jack muttered when he got an eyeful of Gareth in nothing but boxer shorts, stretched out on their bed.The tousled hair and touch of colour in his cheeks told Jack at least one of his gifts had been sampled and appreciated.
“Long-distance… what?It must be eight in the morning where you are!”
“Half-past.What has that to do with anything?”Jack felt the urge to giggle and buried his face in a coffee mug instead.Gareth, after a couple too many, was so much fun he felt another pang of guilt that he’d taken Aidan’s job.Missing Gareth’s birthday hadn’t been part of the plan, and while they’d made progress, they were still a long way from unravelling Max’s mess.“It’s still today.That’s all that matters.Happy birthday!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Gareth muttered.“I mean… who wants to be reminded that they’re getting old?”
“Old?Yeah, you look it.”Jack didn’t bat an eyelash.This was the reason he’d wanted to be home.When Gareth’s moments of introspection came on the heels of a drink or two, he needed Jack to distract him.“Did Daniel design a crazy dinner?”
