Temporary Intrigue (24 page)

“Go right ahead,” she encouraged.

“Not here. Somewhere quieter.”

Dimity looked around the restaurant. They had arrived early and there were only a couple of other people there.

“It’s fairly quiet now,” she pointed out, but Josh shook his head.

“Let’s talk about it after dinner.”

Talk about what? And why wouldn’t he talk about it now? Was he afraid she would throw the bread rolls at him when she heard what he had to say? If so, why? These and other questions spoiled her enjoyment of the rest of the meal.

Neither of them wanted coffee. When they left the restaurant Dimity expected him to suggest driving to some place where they could talk, but instead he drove straight to her home.

He stopped outside and sat tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, staring ahead through the windscreen.

“Want to change your mind about coffee?” she suggested at last.

“Not right now. Let’s take Bert for a walk.”

“What?” Dimity stared at him blankly, then shrugged. If he wanted somewhere quiet to talk, a stroll around the neighbourhood at this hour was probably a good choice.

She cajoled a reluctant Bert from his kennel where he had been sound asleep, and returned to find Josh prowling restlessly, circling Shane’s car in the driveway.

“What are you doing?” she queried.

“Keeping warm.”

They started out. After his initial lack of enthusiasm, Bert trotted happily ahead of them on the lead.

“We always go the same way,” Dimity said. “He likes the same places, the same smells.”

Josh, walking with his hands thrust into the pockets of his jacket, didn’t answer. Glancing sideways at him under a streetlight, she wondered at the tense set of his jaw, and the way his eyes seemed to be avoiding her.

“For goodness sake!” she said at last. “What’s
wrong?
”

He waited with her until Bert had explored a new and exciting scent at the foot of a tree.

“I was thinking of things today,” he said when they finally moved on.

“So you said.” Dimity’s mouth was suddenly dry. A swarm of butterflies seemed to have taken up residence in her stomach.

“If you don’t want to see me any more, I’d rather you just tell me,” she said.

“What on earth makes you think that?” Looking totally taken aback, he put an arm around her and hugged her before returning his hand to his pocket. “That’s the last thing I’d want to do.”

Despite her relief, Dimity was far from comforted.

“With the way you’re acting, what else am I supposed to think?”

They stopped at a cross street to let a couple of cars go by.

“I know I’m not handling this well,” Josh said when they resumed walking, “but I don’t want to worry you.”

“Well, you are!”

“Okay.” They were between streetlights and she couldn’t see his face clearly but she heard him take a deep breath. “Look, do you think somebody might be trying to hurt you?”

Whatever she had expected, it wasn’t this.

“Hurt my feelings?”

“No, I mean do you an injury.” He was looking down at her, but she still couldn’t see his face well. “You seem to have been involved in a lot of accidents in a short time.”

He’d been brooding about her health and welfare all afternoon? Dimity slipped her free hand through his arm and slid it down into his pocket to join his hand. His fingers closed immediately around hers.

“These things happen,” she said gently. “I wasn’t badly hurt.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” His fingers massaged hers warmly but his tone was bleak. “What actually happened the first time, when you ended up with the black eyes? Did you get the other driver’s details?”

“No.” Dimity returned the pressure of his long fingers. “It happened at night when I was picking Shane up at Shenanigans. When I was nearly there a car slammed into mine, then kept going. I hadn’t seen it behind me – I don’t think it had its headlights on. The driver had probably been drinking, or maybe the car was stolen.”

“Did anyone else see it happen?” Josh was being annoyingly persistent about the incident.

“It was the early hours of the morning. The nightclub was closed and there wasn’t any other traffic around. Shane usually gets a lift home when he works that shift, but something went wrong so he rang and asked me to pick him up.”

Bert brought them to a halt again. She rested her head against Josh’s shoulder, trying to nestle into him.

“It must have been terrible.” He kissed her forehead absently. “Wouldn’t Shane have been outside waiting for you? Was it close enough for him to see it happen?”

“It would have been but he wasn’t there at the time. He usually waited out the front for me, but not that night. He left his phone inside and went back for it. Apparently he had trouble finding it. It was so long until he appeared that I started to panic, thinking something had happened to him too.”

“You didn’t try phoning him?”

“Yes, but his phone was off.” She removed her hand from Josh’s pocket and let Bert tug her forward. “At least the car was still driveable.”

Strolling beside her, Josh still seemed lost in thought.

“And you weren’t able to get the number of the other car, the one that almost ran you down when you were walking Bert? Somewhere around here, wasn’t it?”

“Back there. The last street we crossed.” Dimity gestured. “I’d passed a parked car, and thought I saw someone sitting in it. I assumed it was that car when I heard it. But it was still there afterwards, and it was empty. The shape of the seat top looked like a person in the dark. The other car came out of nowhere.”

“And now there’s the problem with the brakes on your own car.”

He seemed to be trying to choose his words carefully.

Dimity laughed.

“Have you been reading too many whodunits? Why would someone go to all that trouble to hurt me?”

As they reached the edge of the reserve he startled her by catching her in his arms and pressing her against a handy picket fence while his mouth captured hers with an urgency that took her breath away before she strained towards him, aware of nothing but the powerful tide of emotion overwhelming her.

“This is where I’d like to keep you.” His words, barely audible, were interspersed by rough, demanding kisses across her neck and throat. “Knowing you’re safe with me.”

An excited baying brought them abruptly back to the real world. Engrossed in each other they had totally forgotten Bert, who had taken advantage of Dimity dropping his lead to pursue a neighbourhood cat down the footpath.

“It’s lucky he’s so fat,” observed Dimity after they caught him and, deciding to give the reserve a miss, headed for home at a leisurely pace.

“I’d back the cat any day,” agreed Josh, putting his arm around her.

Luxuriating in the memory of his kisses, Dimity put her hand up to hold his where it rested on her shoulder.

“You shouldn’t worry about me,” she said. “I really feel perfectly safe.”

His arm tightened.

“The only person I can think of who might want to do me in,” she added with a chuckle, “is Malcolm.”

“Malcolm?” Josh sounded taken aback. “Why?”

“Well, as you said, he was virtually trying to blackmail me. But I made it clear he couldn’t, because I didn’t care if Shane kept the job or not.”

Josh looked unconvinced.

“He seemed too plastered to think straight, but I suppose he might have been able to do something to the brakes on your car when he was wandering around the waterfront last night. He might even have tried to get you drunk to make you less capable of driving.”

“Don’t get carried away.” Dimity squeezed his hand. “I was only joking.”

“It wouldn’t make sense, though. Shane’s job wasn’t in the offing when you had the first two accidents.”

Dimity was amused by his cogitations.

“So your money isn’t on Malcolm?”

When he didn’t answer she looked at him, surprised that he seemed so serious about it.

“Well, who else
is
there?” she demanded. “What about Gail? Now there’s someone who really
does
want to get rid of me!”

Noticing Bert had stopped to inspect a bush, Josh stopped too and turned her towards him.

“Promise you won’t explode,” he said. “That you’ll listen.”

“I wish you’d just cough it up.” Dimity felt a surge of exasperation. “Come on, it’s getting cold.”

She coaxed Bert along. Josh caught up with them. They were almost back.

“Wait a minute.” He put a hand on her arm. “Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but I couldn’t help wondering – do you think it could be Shane?”

Dimity came to a dead stop. Then she turned to face him.

“Did you say what I think you said?”

“Dim, please listen for a minute. I know it might seem a bit harsh, but– ”

“A bit harsh?” Dimity goggled at him. “You’re accusing my brother of trying to
murder
me and you’re worried I might think it’s a bit
harsh
?”

“Okay, calm down.” Josh took her hand but she jerked it away. “There’s no need to take it personally– ”

“Of
course
it’s personal! Are you crazy? Why on earth would Shane do such a thing?”

“All I can do is look at the facts.” Josh reached for her again, but she moved sharply backwards. “What started me thinking was something he said this afternoon.”

“What?” demanded Dimity.

“He mentioned doing a stunt driving course. That reminded me of what you said about the car that nearly ran you down. And he did a mechanics course, too. He’d know how to tamper with your brakes, and he had plenty of opportunity to do that last night when he was backwards and forwards with the food.”

Dimity tried to speak but he rushed on, determined to make all the points he had been pondering.

“And where was he when you couldn’t find him at Shenanigans the night the car hit yours? He could have stolen a car, rammed you, then abandoned the car and returned, pretending he’d forgotten his phone as an excuse for not being there.”

“Oh, pile up the evidence! Great detective work! But tell me,
Sherlock
, why would he go to all that trouble? He could get me at home any time.”

“Too obvious. He’s not stupid.” Josh’s expression was troubled but resolute. “I’m sorry, Dim. I hate saying these things but I’m worried to death about you. I keep thinking about the way he attacked you with the knife.”

“I don’t believe this!” Dimity stared at him as if she had never seen him before. “How could you bring that up against him? He was a child! And you still haven’t said why you think he would want to do it!”