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“Fine,” said A
The kitchenette was separated from the rest of the bed-sit by a thin green curtain, which Mandy left open as she filled the electric kettle. A
A vivid memory of Rick Stenson, her boyfriend at the time, came to her as the music played. A handsome, fair-haired media studies student, he had always put her down for her musical tastes, being into Joy Division, Elvis Costello, Dire Straits and Tracy Chapman. He thought he was a cut above the Pet Shop Boys, Enya and Fleetwood Mac fans. He even used to go on about the original Fleetwood Mac, when Peter Green played with them. What had she seen in him? A
Mandy came in with the tea and sat in the other armchair, legs curled up, the hem of her T-shirt barely covering the tops of her slim, smooth thighs. Curly brown hair, messy from sleep, framed a heart-shaped face with thin lips, a small nose and loam-brown eyes. She had beautiful Brooke Shields eyebrows, A
“What did you do last night?” A
“Do? What do you mean? Why do you want to know?”
“Would you just let me ask the questions?” A
Mandy sulked and sipped some tea, then she said, “Okay. Ask away.”
“Was Mark here with you?”
“Mark? Of course not. That’s ridiculous. What’s he supposed to have done? If he said-”
“You do know him, don’t you?”
Mandy toyed with a strand of hair, straightening and curling. “If you mean Mark Siddons, yes, of course I know him. He comes by the pub sometimes when he’s working on the building site.”
“Which building site?”
“Over the park. They’re putting up a new sports center for the college.”
“And are you friendly with Mark?”
“Sort of.”
A
“What kind of girl do you think I am?”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” A
Mandy reddened. “It wasn’t like that!”
“Then tell me what it was like.”
“What’s this all about? What has Mark done?”
A
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s the only deal you’ll get. Take it or leave it.”
Mandy glared at her, then settled down to playing with her curls again. She let the silence stretch before answering. “Mark came to the pub a few times, at lunchtime, like I said. It was the holiday period, so I was working extra shifts. I liked him. He wasn’t a bit of rough.” She gave A
So cynical so young, A
“He’d flirt a bit and we’d chat,” Mandy went on. “You know what it’s like.”
“What about last night?”
“He came to the pub late. He seemed a bit upset.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t say. He just seemed depressed, like he had a lot on his mind.”
“What time was this?”
“About a quarter to eleven. Nearly closing time. He only had the one pint.”
“Then what?”
“I invited him back here for a coffee.”
“So he was here?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you lie to me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to think I was a tramp or a slag or anything. It wasn’t like that at all. I only asked him up for a coffee because I felt sorry for him.”
“What happened?” A
“We talked, mostly.”
“Mostly?”
Mandy looked down, examining her thumbnail. “Well, you know… One thing led to another. Look, I don’t have to spell it out, do I?”
“What did you talk about?”
“Life.”
“That’s a big subject. Can you narrow it down a bit for me?”
“You know, relationships, hopes for the future, that sort of thing. We’d never really talked like that before.” She frowned. “Nothing’s happened to him, has it? Please tell me he’s all right.”
“He’s fine,” said A
“Tina? Who’s that?”
“Never mind,” said A
“Does he have a girlfriend? He never told me. The two-timing bastard.”
“Mandy, can you remember what he talked about?”
It took Mandy a few moments to control her anger and answer. “The boat. Living on the boat. How he was only working on a building site, but he wanted to get into masonry and church-restoration work. He told me he had a sister on drugs, and he wanted to help her. That sort of thing. Like I said, relationships, dreams. Wait a minute! Was that Tina? His sister?”
“I don’t know,” said A
“Tom? No. Who’s that?”
“A neighbor. An artist who lived on the boat next to Mark’s.”
Mandy shook her head. Her curls bounced. “No,” she said. “He never mentioned any Tom. Apart from saying how he liked it there, and how peaceful it was, he just complained about some interfering old anorak who kept trying to get him to move.”
That would be Andrew Hurst, A
“I don’t know. Late. I was half asleep. I hardly noticed him go.”
“How late?” A
“Oh, no. Later than that. I mean we really did talk for hours, until two at least. It was only after that…”
“What?”
“You know. Anyway, he seemed edgy later, said he couldn’t sleep. I told him to go because I needed my sleep for work.”
“So it was after two?”
“Yes. Maybe around three.”
“Okay,” said A
“Your turn now,” said Mandy, at the door.
“What?”
“You were going to tell me why you’re asking these questions.”
“Oh,” said A