Dangerous Promises Read Free Page B

before would be fine if it’s still available.’
    Mrs Cuthbert had hesitated, torn between an inclination to refuse – at her age she didn’t need any unnecessary bother – and the prospect of a regular income from a small shabby room that was always hard to let. Eventually the latter had won out and she’d stood aside, albeit with a show of reluctance, to allow Sadie across the threshold. ‘I don’t want any trouble, mind.’
    ‘There won’t be any, I promise.’
    Sadie opened the suitcase and started to empty it. She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d come back here. It was, she suspected, because she lacked the energy to go anywhere new. With so much changing in her life, she craved some kind of familiarity, even if was only in the form of a small single room with peeling wallpaper and a pervasive smell of damp. Anyway, it wouldn’t be for ever. Once she was back on her feet, she’d be able to get a place of her own.
    Having left most of her stuff at her mother’s house, the process of unpacking didn’t take long. Once it was done, she shoved the case on top of the wardrobe and wondered what to do next. It was almost six o’clock – too late for job hunting – but she felt that kind of restlessness that comes with the hope of making a fresh start.
    She went over to the window and stared down at the street. Inevitably, she was jolted back to that traumatic night when she’d finally managed to talk her way out of the cellar only to witness the gruesome sight of Mona Farrell being mown down in front of her. She wrapped her arms around her chest, shuddering at the memory.
    Sadie closed her eyes and waited a moment before opening them again. She had to find a way to deal with it, to move on, or she wouldn’t have any kind of future at all. The first step, she decided, was to tie up the loose ends. Quickly she turned away from the window and pulled on her coat.
    Outside the rain was coming down heavily, hammering on the pavement and running in fast streams along the gutters. She put up her umbrella, began to walk and then made a zigzag dash across the road when the cars slowed for the red traffic lights. As she went past the Fox, the door opened and she heard the clink of glasses, a snatch of laughter, before the door swung shut again.
    Sadie hesitated, wondering if Velma was in there – she wasn’t in her room – but knew that now wasn’t the right time for a detour. Although she wasn’t looking forward to seeing Nathan Stone again, it was something that couldn’t be avoided. Living in Kellston, she was bound to run into him at some point and she preferred to get it over and done with.
    However, as she rounded the corner and saw the blue neon sign for Ramones, her resolution began to fade. Did she really have to do this now? Maybe it could wait until tomorrow or the day after. There wasn’t a rush. It wasn’t as if he was going anywhere. But she was aware that if she put it off, she’d probably never do it, and it was better, surely, to have the meeting on her terms rather than his.
    Sadie slowed as she drew closer to the bar. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling being beholden to someone you didn’t like. But sometimes, she thought, you just had to swallow your pride and get on with it. If it hadn’t been for Nathan Stone, she wouldn’t be here now, a free woman, if not a particularly happy one.
    Before she could change her mind, Sadie pushed open the door and stepped inside. It was quiet apart from the soft strains of jazz playing in the background. There was only a handful of customers, early drinkers who’d come straight from work and were busy demolishing their first bottle of wine. The barman gave her a glance, but went back to polishing his glasses as she walked past and went to the rear of the bar.
    A part of her had been hoping that Stone wouldn’t be around, but there he was, sitting at the same table, his grey head bent over what could have been the same set of books. She had one of those