Chapter 4
She sat staring at the door after he left for two hours wishing that he would come back. Finally she sighed and went into her room to change for the night. After pouring herself another generous glass of wine, she walked out to her balcony and lit up her second and last cigarette of the day.
Even though she lived alone, she couldn't bring herself to smoke inside her own home. She felt like a kid again, sneaking off for a quick cigarette, so afraid of getting caught. But who would catch her, she wondered. And even more depressing, who would care?
She sipped her wine and smoked watching the village below her. Hardly anyone was out this late in the evening, but she enjoyed watching the few couples dodging the rain and puddles in the streets. She was serene, but there was something missing in her life. The war and her circumstances had changed her from the flighty airhead that thought everything was funny and so dramatic to a passive observer and passer-by who never quite met anyone's eyes. Although she hid it well, she refused to allow herself to feel. That is, until today when her past and maybe a promise of a future walked in her uncle's shop.
She carefully grounded out the cigarette and finished the glass of wine. She sat watching the lights below darken and the few people out disappear into the night. She sat still for several minutes enjoying the quiet. As she rose to go back inside, her eye caught movement in the alley across the way and watched a cloaked and hooded figure turn and walk away. Had he been there the whole time?
For the first time since she moved in, Lavender closed and locked her balcony door. She almost left it standing wide open, inviting whoever it was out there to come inside, but she quickly changed her mind. Her fantasies had imagined a secret lover (Ron?) waiting for her to go to bed, but more likely it was someone who had just gone in the alley to pee.
The wine made her sleepy, and the next thing she heard was an owl tapping on her window. The sun was just coming up and she was surprised that she had slept through the night. Impatiently, she threw on her robe and opened the window. The owl, a barn owl that Lavender didn't recognize, hopped in and dropped the parchment it was holding in its beak. There was no pouch to drop coins, so Lavender petted it absently while she enrolled the scroll. The bird gave an impatient screech and turned around and flew back out the door.
"Dear Lavender," the letter read, "I think I have found some of our cousins in Algeria and am headed that way. I'll return as soon as I can. It looks promising. Don't forget to collect the rent on the first, and I did not give Mrs. Ollister an extension. Try to rent out the two flats in your building. Do a deal; I don't like them to go empty. Your uncle, Ephraim."
So, he was going to Algeria, thought Lavender. At least I have something concrete to tell Ron, and Graham, of course.
She was surprised to see Graham waiting for her in front of her uncle's shop and only a tiny bit disappointed that Ron was not with him. He nodded his head slightly and smiled at her.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "I hope you had a pleasant night."
She looked at him, trying to determine if there was some underlying message in his greeting. Maybe he was the one in the alley. There was nothing in his eyes that suggested anything and she released the breath she had been holding.
"Very well," she said shyly.
"Are you still willing to go out to dinner with me?" he asked suddenly.
"Well, I…"
"What did Ron tell you about me?"
"What? I don't know what you're…"
He laughed. "Come on, Lavender. I'm an Auror, remember and I have 'special skills'. I figured out last night that you and Ron had some kind of history and after I left you probably sent him an urgent message asking about me. Well, I hoped you were curious about me anyway." His grin was so adorable, she actually blushed.
"So you didn't know he came over last night and warned me about you?"
"Really? Hmm, that is interesting. What did he say?" he asked, trying to hide a sly smile.
"Oh, well, that's kind of personal," she said.
"That bad, huh? Oh my. Well, then. It's a good thing he's married, right? Or I may have some competition."
"Ron told me he was separated."
This time he did laugh. "If you call his wife in Australia visiting her sick mother, then yeah, I guess you could say they are separated."
"Oh." Lavender's face turned very red. "I guess I misunderstood," she said quietly. "Oh well, no big deal. Oh! I have news about my uncle. I received an owl from him this morning and he's on his way to Algeria. He said he may have found some of our cousins."
He watched as she unlocked the front door and proceeded to open the shop. Since Ephraim ran a management service, there weren't any customers waiting to get in and shop. It was still a few days until the first, so no one would be paying rent today. The office, as usual, would be quiet.
"Did he say when he'd be back?" Graham asked casually.
She shook her head. "I don't expect him back until after the first. Do you want to see the letter?" She fished the paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. She watched as he carefully went over it.
"So, you have a couple of flats in your building for rent?"
Surprised, she nodded. "Yes, I do. Do you need a flat?"
Graham rolled the parchment back up and handed it to her. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am looking for a place to stay."
"Wonderful. Would you like to see it now?"
"My boss would probably frown on doing personal business on company time. Perhaps you'll show it to me after you get off work. We could go to dinner and then you could show it to me."
"Oh. Okay. That sounds good."
He smiled at her again and it looked like he was going to say something else, but he shook his head. "I guess I should go now. I have a few more leads to follow up on."
"Can you really not tell me what this is about?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Sorry, Lavender." She felt a tingle go up her spine when he said her name. "But I really can't."
She nodded. "Oh, before I forget, by any chance were you skulking outside my window last night?"
"No. Did you see someone?"
She shrugged. "It was probably nothing. I'm not even sure it was a person."
"Did you get a look at him?"
"Not really. It was dark and he was wearing a long dark cloak. Describes half the town, I imagine," she laughed nervously.
He didn't laugh. He looked concerned and even worried.
"What? What is it?" Now she looked nervous. Maybe someone was stalking her. "Does it have something to do with the case you're working?"
He looked surprised. "No," he said quickly. "I'm sure it was nothing. Nothing to worry about. Well," he said looking at his watch. "I really do have to go back to work. I'll come back around 6:30. Is that alright?"
She nodded shyly.
"And don't be afraid to call me if you think of anything else and if you see anything suspicious. Promise?"
"I promise," she said.
He looked like he was going to say something else, but he turned and walked out the door. She watched him until she was distracted by a customer who slipped in behind him.
"May I help you?" she asked brightly. Her breath caught when she saw the customer; it was a tall man who was wearing a wide brimmed hat and a dark robe.
He walked silently to her desk. "I wanted to see about a rental," he said. His voice was just above a whisper and he brought chills to the back of her neck and made the hair on her arms stand up.
"Uh," she hesitated. "I'm sorry," she said. "We just rented our last flat. I'll probably have something come available very soon. If you'll leave me your name and an address where I can reach you, I'll call you when something comes open."
"No, that's all right. I guess I heard wrong. I heard you had two flats available."
She smiled nervously and shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry."
He looked at her, although she couldn't see his face clearly, she did see that his eyes were dark and sinister. He turned around sharply, his cloak flying around him, and walked quickly out the door, slamming it loudly.
