He'll have to break all the rules to keep her, but first she has to break just one and let him in...
It's taken four years, but Anna Fray has finally put the past behind her. Mostly. She fills her days working in a bar and her nights watching bad ro...
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The newspaper appeared near closing time. It was one of those free papers that were given out on the local transport system to entertain the daily commuters, or eventually end up as wrapping for tomorrow's greasy fish and chips. After they'd tried and failed at the daily Sudoku, it had been left behind on the bar by one of the regulars.
I'd been flicking through to the crossword at the back, lazily scanning the articles when my eyes snagged on it. I almost missed it: a tiny article buried near the back. Three columns from the bottom. There was no photograph. No dramatic headline. Just a few lines: Local Man Found Dead at Conservation Centre.
I fought to still the way my hands trembled as Emma leaned over my shoulder and peered down at the page.
"Do they know who it is yet?"
"Christopher Rettie," Callum called as he passed behind me with a tray of dirty glasses and headed for the back kitchen.
I sucked in a breath. Atticus sat in the bar stool on the other side of the bar and gently brushed his hand against mine. It was a small movement, one the others wouldn't have noticed, but it did everything to help calm the nerves squirming in the pit of my stomach.
We'd talked about this, the fact that Christopher's body would be found and questions might be asked, but he'd reassured me that Aslo was as good as any Watcher at hiding the truth. For once I was grateful for their art of deception.
"Christopher Rettie?" Kelly pondered as she paused counting the cash in the till. "Wasn't he that biology teacher at our school, Anna?"
I swallowed and flicked a glance towards Atticus. His returning gaze steady my nerve.
"Yeah I think so."
I wondered if they heard the way my voice shook.
Callum popped his head around the doorframe at the far end of the bar. "Apparently loads of girls have come forward online saying he tried it on with them."
Kelly tutted, "that's sick. Taking advantage like that."
"Yeah apparently he was a piece of work," Callum added, a little out of breath from ditching the tray beside the dishwasher and coming back for more. "Weren't you at Eastfield around then?" he asked as he passed behind me.
I cleared my throat. Warmth enveloped my hand as Atticus softly held it in his.
"Yeah I remember rumours," I mumbled, casting a grateful smile to Atticus before taking a breath and releasing his hand to empty the waste trays on the beer taps.
In a way that only Kelly could, she seemed to sense the truth permeating from me as we stood shoulder to shoulder. I heard the rustle of bank notes cease and flicked a glance up to see Kelly watching me. I forced a smile but her hazel eyes saw through it. I could almost see the moment she figured it out, like a shadow passed behind her eyes, winking out the warm olive green flecks.
