Page 53 of Spy With Me
Devi pulled out her phone and glanced down at it. Lacey wasgoing to be a few minutes late, according to her text.
“Hey, lady,” a masculine voice said. He had an Englishaccent. He was dressed in a soccer—football—jersey that proclaimed him to be afan of Glossop North End. Whatever that was. He looked to be close to her age,and his smile actually did seem friendly. He was probably a big old nerd. “Uhm,not sure how to tell you this but you shouldn’t drink that beer.”
Fuck. They were in the hall, out of view of the bar. “Why? Imean I can guess. Did he slip something in?”
The man nodded. He had curly, dark hair and wore jeans andsneakers. “Yeah. I mean I think he might have. I saw his hand move over the topof the mug. He’s bothering you, right?”
“He is trying to pick me up, and now I know he’s a criminalwho was going to take advantage of me. Should I call the pol…” She couldn’t.There would be far too many questions and paperwork, and Zach would likelyfreak out, and Lacey wouldn’t like the cops looking at them when she was soclose to her mission starting. “Uhm, maybe I should sneak out. I thank you… Ididn’t catch your name.”
He held out a hand. “Tim. I’m down here visiting my cousin.He didn’t see it. Told me I shouldn’t get involved, but I couldn’t let you walkinto that trap.”
She shook his hand. “Well, I wasn’t going back. I was goingto slip outside.”
Tim let her hand go. “Good for you. Hey, you know what I’lldo? I’ll tell him I saw someone leaving out the back entrance. Then he’lllikely find another target.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. “Maybe I should try todeal with him.”
Tim waved that thought off. “Don’t bother. There aren’t anyother targets. All the young women leave for bigger cities. It’s probably whyhe pounced on you. I’ll watch him and maybe have a talk with the localconstable about what I saw. He can be pretty intimidating, and he doesn’tparticularly like strangers. Stay inside the loo until I give you the allclear. Or just in this hallway. I’ll make sure he goes out the front.”
At least there were some nice people left in the world.“Thanks, Tim.”
He started to pass her but stumbled slightly and bumped intoher. “Sorry. Bit of a klutz.”
“No problem,” she replied as she moved further toward theloos in the back. There were all kinds of pictures lining the narrow hallway.She glanced at them. They went all the way back to World War II. Pictures ofmen and women in uniform hoisting a pint. Some had careful notations on thebottom of the frames. Lieutenant Miles Bron and company. Catrin and BethanDavies welcome their soldiers home. They gradually moved to later years, andDevi was fascinated with the clothes they wore, the way they held themselves.What history was here in this tiny pub? She could look at the pictures forever.She kind of wanted to sketch a few of them because there was a ton ofinspiration here. She loved the lines of the WWII military uniforms and theelegant hairdos. But she was equally inspired by the bohemian vibes from thesixties. There was something cool and over the top about the eighties.
She could use those lines. Pair them with soft colors andfabrics from the sixties and the elegant makeup from the forties. A whole linesprang into her head. Day wear that flowed into evening looks. Casual wear thatfit the vibes of formal wear.
She wanted to sketch and get the ideas down, but shecouldn’t exactly go back out to the bar until the coast was clear. If she hadher own phone she could have taken some pictures, but she understood why Zachhad brought this seemingly smart phone down to basic functions. It wasn’tsending out a signal that let everyone know exactly where it was.
So she simply moved down the hall, studying the picturesthat caught her eye. The last few years were filled with photographs ofcelebrating footballers and graduates with their proud parents. There was oneof the same group from long ago. They’d been young soldiers at the beginning ofthe hall, and now they were old and gray and still hoisting a pint in theiruniforms.
It brought tears to her eyes. So much life in those photos.Whole love stories seemed to play out. Children grew up as she made her waydown the hall.
She was going to tell her Uncle Sean that they needed a walllike this at Top. It was where a good portion of Dallas celebrated, but moreimportantly it was where her whole family came together. Almost everygraduation and new job were celebrated. Where new babies were welcomed andreunions were had. Just a couple of months back they’d had a big celebrationfor her dad and Uncle Case’s birthday. Uncle Case and Aunt Mia had come withher cousin Heath. She had sat with her besties and felt like she was at home.
A sniffle came from her. She was getting emotional, but itwas okay. She’d felt numb for a long time, and emotion was part of who she was,what she did.
She caught sight of a wedding photo. It looked to be fromthe early 2000s if the fashions were on trend.
Dr. Arthur Beddoe and wife, Cecelia.
Arthur. She kind of loved Arthur. He was smart and funny andgave excellent advice. It was hard to believe he’d been a soldier at one point.
He wasn’t wearing his uniform. He was in a morning suit,smiling gamely as he held his wife’s hand in one and a pint in the other.
He was younger. Way younger. And honestly, he didn’t looklike himself. The coloring was right but the jaw was different, and hisshoulders were less broad.
Something about the photo was wrong.
“Hey, he’s gone. But I got a bad feeling about that one.”Tim was back, a worried expression on his face. “I think he was going off tolook for you.”
The thought sent a chill down her spine, and all thequestions about Arthur fled in favor of worrying if she’d attracted a serialkiller. That wasn’t supposed to happen to her. That happened to Daisy. She wasthe girl who didn’t get into ride shares without checking the license plate andthat the picture on the app matched the person doing the driving. She was theperpetual designated driver. The steady one.
“I should go.” What she should do was call Zach, but if shedid she might never be allowed to leave the farm again. As much as she lovedit, she enjoyed the occasional bit of leave. He should understand that.
Tim seemed disconcerted at the thought. “Maybe you shouldcome sit with me and my cousin. Do you have anyone who could take you home? Icould follow you in my cousin’s car. I don’t like the thought of that manlooking for you.”
She didn’t either, but lucky for her she had an out. “Afriend is picking me up. I won’t leave until she’s with me. You’re right. Ishould stay in a public place.”
