Fourteen Days(36)

“Nic?” he said.

She didn’t answer.

“Nic? I’m sorry I went a bit mad earlier.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied, still not looking at him.

“Yes it does. I’m sorry. You’re right. It probably was just a dream. I haven’t been sleeping very well; my mind’s been a little hazy the last few days.”

Turning to him, she forced a smile, clearly struggling to shake off the disagreement. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s drop it. I can’t be bothered with all of this. I’m already stressed out at work, I don’t need to come home to more.”

He nodded, now even more convinced not to involve her any further. “Yeah, let’s drop it.” He could still feel tension in the air so he changed the subject. “So, what’s wrong in work? Anything serious?”

She shrugged. “Oh, the usual, but it’s been getting to me lately.”

“So why don’t you look for another job?”

“I have been thinking about it, but…”

“Look, if it’s making you feel stressed then you should quit. Find somewhere else to work. I’m sure you’ll get something easily.” He smiled. “You could work with me.”

She gave him a look of disbelief. “Work with you? No thank you.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with working with me?”

“Look, Rich, I love you loads, but I couldn’t think of anything worse than working with my husband every single day.”

“What’s the big deal? Lots of couples do.”

“I’m sure they do, but spending twenty-four hours together isn’t healthy. I need space—we both do. Trust me, it’d be an absolute nightmare.”

“Okay, I get your point, but the offer’s there if you want it.”

“Thank you for the offer.” She nodded and smiled. “But no thank you. I’ll just have to grin and bear it for another few months. My boss is going on maternity leave soon, so Brian’ll be in charge.”

Who the hell is Brian? Richard thought, as he nodded in agreement. Got to start taking more of an interest in her job.

But for now, Richard had bigger fish to fry. And tomorrow he would find out whether or not Christina Long was just a random name—or in fact the woman in the white dress.

Tomorrow he would begin his investigation.

But first he would have to face sleeping on the same bed that she had sat on.



After several hours of watching TV, Nicky stood up noisily from the couch, yawning as she stretched her arms up to the ceiling. “Right then, I’m off to bed. Make sure—”

But before she could finish, Richard said, “I’m coming too.” He virtually leaped up from a sitting position, and yawned. “I’m knackered. Been a long day.” But he was far from tired. The idea of sitting in the living room alone—at night—made him wince. The only time the fear totally subsided was when he was with Nicky. And after what had happened today, he was in no fit state to go solo.

She looked at him as if suspicious of his actions. “You don’t look tired. Stay down here and watch TV if you like. I don’t mind. Honestly.”

“No, no. I’m coming up too,” he said, shaking his head in protest. “Got some stuff to do tomorrow.”

She smirked at him. “Stuff? What stuff? You mean laze about the house.” She turned the TV off and left the room.

Fake-laughing, he followed her. “Very funny. It’s tough doing nothing all day, you know. Got to get my beauty sleep.”

She led the way upstairs into the bathroom.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Nicky brushed her teeth over the sink. Richard sat on the edge of the bath, watching her. “What are you waiting for?” she asked, with a mouthful of foamy toothpaste before spitting it out into the sink.

“I’m waiting for you?”

Swilling her mouth out with water and spitting, she frowned. “Aren’t you going to brush your teeth?”

He nodded, and then joined her at the sink. Just as he squirted toothpaste onto his toothbrush he saw her head for the door. “Where are you going?”

She turned to face him, grimacing in bafflement. “To bed. Where do you think?”

“Hang on a second.” He cleaned his teeth in record time, watching her through the mirror as she stood in the doorway. He quickly spat in the sink and followed Nicky out of the bathroom.