#2 In The Dark

Chap. 3_ double-barrelled or automatic?

Sarah hadn't done what Rob had said at the end of his note, simply because her apartment didn't have a fire, and she didn't own a lighter. Nor did she want to set the fire alarm off. Her landlord didn't like her anyway, so a 'chat' with him about fire misuse wouldn't be pleasant or profitable.

So she'd put the letter in the bin. And then taken the bin outside, for it to be collected when she'd left the house.

She'd jotted down the gist of the letter in short hand, on her phone, and she poured over it again, as she sat outside the Felix Hotel on an ornate bench, waiting for Rob. Or James. Or whomever she was expecting!

She knew that she wasn't expecting the same Rob as she knew. He was deadly serious about trying to lie low throughout this whole operation, but what he needed to ask her about was simply beyond her. It had only taken them a few days to solve the Amelia Adams mystery, but in doing that, Jerry had practically walked free, without charge.

And now he was taunting them? The cheek! It was so blatant as well. What had they got wrong, Mr J.A.? He was always one for arrogance, was Jerry, Stark realised. And he would be until the day he died.

She shook her mind off Jerry. They'd never met, but his evil, maniacal smile still haunted her thoughts. Some people can do that to you. They can trap you.

But as she wriggled her mind to try and free herself of Jerry Adams, Stark looked to her left and found herself looking at two figures she thought she knew.

Walking towards her were Rob and Frank. She was sure of it. Practically certain, in fact. Frank was walking closest to the pavement, and his leisurely gait and strides meant you could pick him out quite easily from a crowd. And his eyes, Sarah. Don't forget about those- Shut up! Concentrate.... But the eyes- Shut. Up. Is that really Rob, though?

Standing to the side of the fairly recognisable Frank, Sarah stared hard. The man was in a tuxedo, made from sparkling fabric which glistened harshly, even compared to Frank's clean suit. He had a small bounce to his step, and had a wide smile, shrouded by a layer of short hair, forming a stubble all over his face. It was like a really short full beard.

But the man had that weight to his step, and the right height. It was Rob, and Stark couldn't help but run towards him in glee.

"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaames," she squealed, as she galloped down the road outside the Hotel, just so that most people in the restaurant could see (and hear) her out of the window.

She locked into an embrace with the man who she hadn't seen for so long. And they stayed there for quite a while.

"Okay, sis," Rob said, assuming character as Stark had, "Don't let me have all the hugs. I don't want to make your fiancée jealous!" He gestured to Frank, and Sarah had to act fast. She hadn't had the time to ask why Frank was here. And now they'd become engaged in a matter of seconds!

Frank, still looking awfully confused, stood stock still for a couple seconds. And then it dawned on him.

Something Rob had given him beforehand without reason. It now had a purpose.

He reached into his pocket and returned with something, though his hand clasped tightly onto it, so no-one could see, not even Sarah.

Frank took her hand with his clenched one and, without hesitation, slipped a ring onto Sarah's finger. It was solid silver, and very plain. But very pretty all the same.

It was at this time when Sarah finally looked at the ring.

In the time in between, she'd been thinking. Frank was here, and to keep Rob's façade, she couldn't simply ask why. There were people walking by them every minute. Who knows what people could've heard? But she'd been thinking about names. Rob hadn't given her a name in his letter. But she knew she was his sister, meaning her surname, since she wasn't married yet, was also Arkwright. Then she just had to plump for a first name. She chose Evie, in homage to her late mother. Now it was time to put the plan into action.