Part 5 of 10
He goggles at her. G… girl… girlfriend? Her? With ME? And she wants to protect MY reputation? No one's ever worried about ME before! He swallows and manages, "Oh, um, ah, well, thank you for that. I'd feel much better having a nice young woman such as you on hand day and night… I mean… No! Not on hand… not day and night… but as a… a… witness! Yes! A non-biased witness, just to keep things on the up and up, you know?" He circles a finger beneath his collar. Whew, almost lost my cool there.
She smiles and he smiles back at her. He's not sure what just happened here. Well, he senses he dodged a bullet with Lily and he's glad for that. He's just not sure what's happening with Camille... but, whatever it is, he likes it. He likes it a lot. His smile widens.
She stands. He stands. Their business is at an end. They shake hands and both startle at the sensation that runs up their arms. They drop their hands and surreptitiously shake out their fingers as if they've each had a subtle shock. He escorts her out to her bike and even helps roll it up to the main road so they can chat some more about whatever it is they talk about (he can't recall a single thing). He also suddenly wishes his lane was longer.
She rides her little scooter back to town as if in a dream. She's so distracted that she doesn't even realize she's distracted. Her Maman notices over a late supper but wisely keeps quiet. She's only ever seen this look when her daughter is puzzling over a tough case… except… Camille's eyes aren't hard and resolute, they are soft and questioning. Catherine bites her tongue and does NOT ask if Camille has met someone new today. She has her own sources in town and will ferret out the truth soon enough.
Meanwhile, Richard closes up his little house, looking around, seeing the neatness and happy to know that it's someone else's problem now. A green flash in the corner! "Oh," he sighs, "I forgot to tell her about the lizard infestation. Well, I hope she isn't squeamish. This is his home too, after all." He strips, showers, and falls asleep feeling better than he has since he got here.
And so the Hulme case remains unresolved into the following week. Richard begins to settle in, both at work and at home. Camille slips seamlessly into his life, puttering about the station at odd hours then keeping him company in the evenings. They don't talk much as they seem suddenly shy around each other but Lily drops in twice more at the beach house and is foiled both times.
"What did I tell you?" Camille mutters after the second attempt at 'after-hours liming', "That woman has designs on you, sir. You were very smart to engage my services like you did." Her hot eyes follow Lily's shadowy form as it disappears up the lane once more.
"Did I?" Richard gulps, thinking about 'services' and 'engaging' and other impolite interpretations of these innocent words. His interest in Lily's regard has waned remarkably over the past few days.
Camille nods emphatically, making her hair bounce and Richard's pulse like-wise, "Oh, yes! I'm sure of it." She scribbles something onto a scrap of paper at his desk, "Here, this is my cell phone number. Call me if she shows up unexpectedly after I'm gone. I don't trust her one inch! She smiles too much."
Richard takes the slip like it is a lost translation of 'The Gospel According to The Angel Bordey', "Oh, why, thank you, I'll keep it… keep it…" She takes it from his slack hand and tucks it into his inside jacket pocket then pats his chest right over it. He blinks at her, blushing, and thinks his heart will burst.
She doesn't see this, she's watching the dark shrouded tree-line, "Mmm-hmm, see that you do. I've got a feeling…" She waves goodbye then and saunters off up the beach, heading back to town. As she walks, she thinks furiously about this man and this case and when her cell phone goes off it startles her. She whips it out, sees the message, and kicks up sand and French invective as she sprints back the way
she came.
END – part 5
** 'his heart grew three sizes (in part 4)/almost lost my cool there' – the Grinch. 'She smiles too much' – Pride and Prejudice. Certain sayings stick with you, don't they? **
