Nothing but Meat: A dark, heart-stopping British crime thriller Read Free Page B

her
said her name.
    ‘Simone?’
    She spun around to face the last person she expected to see
standing opposite her and tried to look nonchalant but knew her eyes betrayed
her. ‘Detective Inspector Nathan West,’ she said. ‘What a surprise.’ She wanted
to keep a straight face but couldn’t help but smile. He beamed back and her
heart pounded in her chest as a sudden and glorious rush of sunshine poured
into the dark cavity of her soul, filling it with light and warmth.
    The only man she had ever truly loved moved towards her, hugged
her, and kissed her cheek carefully.
    ‘You look good.’ He said sarcastically, his eyes scanned her
face and his eyebrows lifted.
    ‘Free stitches are perks of the job.’
    He ordered a coffee.
    ‘Got time to sit?’ she asked.
    ‘Grab a table. I’ll be over in a minute.’
    They sat opposite each other and his dark eyes penetrated her
soul. He read her face, all seeing, all knowing.
    She sipped her coffee and winced when the hot rim touched her
lip.
    ‘That looks painful.’
    ‘It is.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘I got head-butted by an angry Romanian.’
    ‘Ouch.’
    ‘Yeah ouch.’ She smiled at him, weighing him up. ‘So come on
then big shot, what are you doing back here?’
    ‘It’s the old man; he’s not doing so good.’
    ‘What’s wrong with him?’
    ‘Cancer. He’s in hospital and I’m staying at the house.’
    She was stunned. ‘Sorry, I didn’t know.’
    ‘You couldn’t have. We should have kept in touch.’
    ‘You know it’s difficult.’
    ‘Difficult,’ he repeated and quietly pondered her remark.
‘How is he?’
    ‘ He is fine - recent
promotion, even more money, better prospects and all that.’
    ‘What about you?’
    ‘I’m okay.’
    ‘Are you happy?’
    ‘Of course,’ she answered a little too quickly. She saw the
flash in those dark eyes and knew that West had noticed. She changed the
subject. ‘How are you holding up?’ she said. ‘You look tired.’
    He turned his coffee cup on its saucer and waited before
speaking. ‘It’s horrible waiting for someone to die. Thought the old bugger was
indestructible.’
    ‘Me too, I’m so sorry.’ She touched his hand and felt an
electric connection between them. Did he feel it too? Probably not, he had
moved on, moved away. She pulled her hand back and they sat in silence for a
while. To her it was a sign of closeness that even after all these years conversation
between them was never forced and the silences never uncomfortable.
    ‘Still taking pictures?’ he said.
    ‘Not really.’
    ‘That’s a shame.’
    ‘Still lighting fires?’
    His eyes flicked left and right, scanning the room quickly,
assessing the location of eavesdroppers. He gave a boyish grin. ‘Often as
possible.’
    She sighed. ‘When will you learn?’
    ‘When it’s too late I suppose.’
    She heard the trill of a mobile phone from West’s jacket
pocket. His brow furrowed and he took the call.
    After a moment West said, ‘I’m on leave.’ He glanced at
Simone and then sighed and nodded. ‘Okay. Fine.’ He hung up and looked at her.
‘That was work; I have to report to your station, I’ve got to see DCI -’
    ‘Jackson?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘Something big has happened. Scotland Yard has pulled me off
my leave. Got a big terrorist threat in London and we’re stretched to the
limit. I’m the highest-ranking available officer, I’m already in Cambridge and
they want me to show my face.’
    ‘Do you know what’s happened?’
    ‘No details yet, but it’s already been classified as a murder
investigation.’
    ‘Jesus, that’ll hit the news in no time.’
    He slurped his coffee and gathered his things. ‘I’m going to
have to go Sim.’
    She smiled inwardly, she liked it when he called her Sim; he
was the only one who ever had and, even though they hadn’t seen each other for
years it only helped to reinforce her belief that they had always been entirely
comfortable with each other.
    ‘Okay, see you