And Justice There Is None Read Free Page A

atmosphere of the sitting room.”
    Gemma turned to face him. “Duncan, are you giving up policing for estate agenting? I’m not going a step further until you tell me what this is all about!”
    “First, tell me if you like it, love. Do you think you could live here?”
    “Of course I like it! But you know what property values are like in this area—there’s no way we could afford something like this even if we pooled our salaries—”
    “Just wait before you make a judgment. See the rest of the house.”
    “But—”
    “Trust me.”
    Following him up the stairs to the first floor, she mulled over her situation. She must make a change, she knew that. The garage flat she rented was much too small for another child, and Kincaid’s Hampstead flat was no more suitable—especially since it looked as though his twelve-year-old son would be moving in with him over the holidays.
    Since she had told Kincaid about the baby, they had talked about living together, combining families, but Gemma had found herself unwilling to face the prospect of such momentous change just yet.
    “Two good-sized bedrooms and a bath on this floor.” Kincaid was opening doors and turning on lights for her inspection. They were children’s rooms, obviously, but again the walls bore pale patches where pictures and posters had been removed.
    “Now for the pièce de résistance.” Taking her hand, he led her up to the top floor.
    Gemma stood riveted in the doorway. The entire top floor had been converted to a master suite, open and airy, with the balcony she’d seen from the street at the front.
    “There’s more.” Kincaid opened another set of French doors and Gemma stepped out onto a small roof garden that overlooked the treetops. “That’s a communal garden beyond the back garden. You can walk right into it.”
    Gemma breathed out a sigh of delight. “Oh, the boys would love it. But it can’t be possible … can it?”
    “It very well might be—at least for five years. This house belongs to the guv’s sister—”
    “Chief Superintendent Childs?” Denis Childs was Kincaid’s superior at the Yard, and Gemma’s former boss as well.
    “—whose husband has just accepted a five-year contract in Singapore, some sort of high-tech firm. They don’t want to sell the house, but they do want it well looked after, and who better than two police officers vouched for by the Chief Super himself?”
    “But we still couldn’t afford—”
    “It’s a reasonable rent.”
    “But what about your flat?”
    “I’d lease it for a good deal more than the mortgage, I imagine.”
    “What about child-minding for Toby? Without Hazel—”
    “There’s a good infant school just down the road from the station. And a good comprehensive for Kit not too far away. Now, any other objections?” He grasped her shoulders and looked down into her eyes.
    “No … it’s just … it seems too good to be true.”
    “You can’t hold the future at bay forever, love. And we won’t disappoint you. I promise.”
    Perhaps he was right … No! She knew he was right. When Toby’s father had left her, alone with a new infant and no support, she had resolved never to depend on anyone again. But Kincaid had never failed her in any way—why should she not trust him in this, as well? Gemma let herself relax into his arms.
    “Blue-and-yellow dishes in the kitchen,” she murmured against his chest. “And a bit of paint in the bedrooms, don’t you think?”
    He nuzzled her hair. “Is that a yes?”
    She felt herself teetering on the edge of a precipice. Once committed, the safety of her old life would be gone. There could be noturning back. But she no longer had the luxury of putting off the decision until she had exorcised the very last smidgen of doubt. With that realization came a most unexpected flood of relief, and an unmistakable fizz of excitement.
    “Yes,” she told him. “Yes, I suppose it is.”
    M OISTURE RINGED THE STREET LAMPS ALONG P ARK