Page 38 of Fe
When the waiter had moved away, Fen said, “Why do they present the bottle to you as if it’s a rare thing? And when you taste it, have you ever saidThis is horrible.Take it away?”
“The waiter is showing me it’s the bottle I ordered so there’s no issue with the bill. And no, I’ve never refused a bottle, but it could be corked, so best to check.”
“How can you tell if it’s corked?”
“It tastes musty, sort of peaty.”
“How do you know what peat tastes like?”
“Smells peaty.”
“So you’re a peat sniffer?” Fen grinned.
“In my spare time.”
“Do you drink with your meals at home?”
“Not every day, but I do like a glass of red wine occasionally.”
“It would be a bit wasted with beans on toast.”
“Yep. White wine with that.”
Fen let out a loud laugh and clapped his hand to his mouth. “Sorry. You’re funny. I didn’t know whether you would be. Your texts made me laugh. I thought you might think it was childish.”
“I didn’t.”
The meal arrived. Fen had ordered fish. Ripley had steak.
“I hope you didn’t have more trouble from those youths.”
Fen glanced up and Ripley gave a heavy sigh.
“Did I give myself away?” Fen asked.
“Forgotten what I do for a living?”
“Damn it. Will I ever be able to hide what I’m thinking?”
“Probably not. Did you have more trouble?”
“Not after that night.”
Oh shit.“I’m also an expert at seeing what is unsaid. What happened?”
“I’m not lying.”
“But you’re hiding something.”
Fen groaned. “You didn’t even need the rack and thumbscrews. Fine. After you’d left, they emptied the contents of a rubbish bin through my letterbox, a less tasty version of Uber Eats, then pissed through it as well. I cleaned it all up and taped the letterbox shut for a couple of days.”
The fork paused on the way to Ripley’s mouth. “Jesus!”
“It wasn’t him.”
“Fen!”
“It’s the first trouble I’ve had since I’ve been living there. Just some drunken idiots. They probably saw your iPhone and watch when we were in the bar. Figured that with me by your side, you’d be an easy target. They misjudged me. I have amazing ninja skills.”
