Tuesday's Child Read online

  “Benjamin? That’s a funny name. But Ben suits him.”

  “I think so, too. How do I get hold of Uncle Nate?”

  “He’s a policeman.” Vianne shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small card. “Here’s his number.”

  Adeline smiled, picked up the phone and started to dial.

  A small hand touched her arm. “You’re deaf. How do you use the phone?”

  “It’s a special one. You just watch.”

  ****

  Detective Sergeant Nate Holmes swung his chair back on two legs and glared at the file in his hand. He flicked it closed and then looked over at his partner, DS Dane Philips. “I hate paper trails. Especially this one.” He tossed the file onto his desk and picked up another one. “It doesn’t matter which way I look at it, or how long and hard I pray about it, it’s going nowhere fast. If we had time it wouldn’t matter, but we don’t. Every second he’s still out there, women are at risk.”

  Dane peered at him over thick-rimmed reading glasses. “Tell me about it. The victims don’t even have the same eye or hair color. Nor are they in the same age bracket—this guy isn’t choosy. Once we find the link then maybe we’ll get a lead on him.”

  “The press is calling him the Herbalist. As the name of every road he’s struck in is named after an herb. He may not be striking in alphabetical order, but so far we’ve had Parsley, Ragwort, and Onion.”

  “Herbalist. I guess it’s as good a name as any. It also fits with the plants left on the bodies. It’s interesting he picks the same ones as the road names. He obviously has a strange sense of humor. Either that or he’s sending a weird message.”

  Nate laughed as Dane scrawled ‘Herbalist’ over the front of the file. He snatched up the phone as it rang. “DS Holmes.”

  “Sgt. Holmes, my name is Adeline Monroe. I run the doll hospital on the High Street.”

  The voice was muffled, and Nate struggled to place the accent. He shook his head at the coffee mug Dane waved at him. He put a hand over the phone. “No, thanks, I drink anymore today and I’ll drown.” He lifted his hand again. “How can I help you, Miss Monroe?”

  “I have Vianne here with me. She came in on her own about forty minutes ago.”

  The chair slammed back onto all four legs, Nate’s attitude changing. His heart pounded. He’d left Vianne with Mrs. Sullivan. What was she doing out on her own? He glanced at the window at the storm raging outside. “Is she all right? She’s not hurt, is she?”

  “She has a small scrape on her knee, which I patched up. Other than that she’s fine. Amelia Jane, on the other hand, needs a little more fixing up.”

  A tight sigh escaped him as he pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. That wretched doll. How’d she find it? He didn’t need this today. “Have Mrs. Sullivan pick her up—I can give you her number…”

  “Apparently Sophie has the measles. Vianne’s been home alone all day.”

  How much worse could the day get? “Great. All right I’ll come get her as soon as I can arrange cover here.” Nate tossed the file to the desk.

  “I’m more than happy for her to stay here until you finish work. She can sit in main reception and color.”

  “I don’t want to impose.”

  “You’re not.”

  “All right, thank you. I’ll be there as soon after five as I can.” He flung the receiver down and pushed a hand through his hair. “That’s all I need.”

  “What’s up?” Dane looked at him.

  “Sophie’s sick, so Vianne has evidently been home alone all day. She somehow managed to get that wretched doll off the top of the wardrobe and broke it. She took it to the doll hospital on the High Street.”

  “I know it well, mate. That’s where Jasmine works.”

  “Then you’ll know the owner, Adeline Monroe?”

  Dane nodded. “We’ve been friends with Adeline for years. She’s deaf, but never let it hold her back.”

  Nate looked at the phone. “Deaf? I just spoke with her on the phone.”

  Dane laughed. “She has a phone that goes through an operator. She talks, you reply, and she gets what you said as a text message. It’s a really clever system.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

  “I just did, didn’t I?”

  A cough from the door drew Nate’s attention towards it. His boss, Detective Inspector Vanessa Welsh, stood there, short dark hair framing her face and piercing blue eyes clouded with grief—something he’d seen all too often in recent days. A sharp stab hit him hard in the stomach. Not again.

  “Guv?”

  “Nate, you and Dane need to get over to Tamarisk Crescent. Body of a young girl in her late teens has been found.”

  “On our way.” Nate stood, sending his chair flying backwards. Reigning in his grief and anger, he sent up a prayer for the latest victim and her family. He grabbed his coat and shrugged into it. “We need to catch this creep, Dane.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know. I was hoping that you being a church elder meant you had some pull with the Bloke upstairs. You know, maybe He’d give you some hints as to who this guy is.”

  “I wish. I have prayed so hard about this. Even asked Pastor Jack to pray about it.” Their footsteps echoed on the stairs as they ran down. “Guess He is waiting for me to do some of the leg-work first.” Nate pulled his collar up against the rain. “So what’s she like?”

  “What’s who like?”

  “This deaf lady I’m trusting to look after my niece.”

  “Adeline is blonde, blue eyes, lovely girl…not slim by any stretch of the imagination, but who wants a slim woman anyway? And best of all, she goes to Headley Baptist.”

  “She does?”

  Dane unlocked the car and slid into the driver’s seat of the pool car allocated to them. “She sits downstairs with her hearing dog, Ben. He’s a gorgeous black and white King Charles spaniel.”

  Nate slammed the door and fastened his seat belt. “Hmmm. You’ll be telling me next she’s single.”

  “She is, actually. Maybe we can get the two of you together—”

  “Forget it. I’m not interested in a relationship. I keep telling you that. I just wanted to make sure she hasn’t got a record.”

  Dane started the car, flipping on lights and wiper blades. “She doesn’t. And I’ll keep trying. Not all women are like your sister-in-law.”

  “Pete died because of Ophelié. Because of me. If I hadn’t told him where she was, he’d never have gone to France. They wouldn’t have been on the plane when it crashed.”

  “It was an accident.”

  “We’ll have to agree to disagree there. Are we going, or what?”

  “We’re going.”

  ****

  Just before five thirty, Ben tapped Adeline’s ankle with his paw.

  “What’s up?” She watched him run to the office door, and got to her feet. That meant there was someone out there she needed to see. She followed him into main reception.

  A tall man with light brown, spiky hair stood there, his arms wrapped around Vianne as he lifted her off the floor in a bear hug. His blue eyes filled with sorrow as he looked the child over, making sure she really was all right. One hand held her tightly, the other patted the hat she still wore.

  Adeline angled herself so she could read both sets of lips.

  “Hey, pumpkin.”

  “Are you cross with me, Uncle Nate?”

  “Well…”

  “I’ve been really good. I couldn’t go to Sophie’s house because she’s sick. I made lunch and put the things in the washdisher afterwards. And I didn’t use the oven because you said not to if you weren’t there.”

  “Dishwasher,” Nate corrected.

  “Dishwasher,” Vianne repeated. “This is Dr. Adeline. She’s fixing Amelia Jane and this is Ben. He’s her special hearing dog.”

  Nate put Vianne down and held out a hand to Adeline. “DS Holmes. Pleased to meet y
ou, Miss Monroe. I’m sorry I’m later than I originally said. Something cropped up in the case I’m working.”

  Adeline shook his hand. His cool grip was firm, and she watched his gaze size her up. He was gorgeous. His full lips moved almost in slow motion, and she wondered for a moment what it would be like to feel them on hers.

  I’ve read way too many romance novels in which many of the heroines have a size eight figure with hardly a flaw in sight. In the old days, women over thirty were like me, spinsters, chunky and a size sixteen. Top heavy and pear shaped. How can I compete with that? Kind of hard to like the way I look with all the supermodels in the papers and magazines.

  She dragged her thoughts back to the man in front of her and the reason he was here. Collecting his niece. “And you, Sergeant. And please don’t worry about the time. You have an important job.” Somehow she managed to get her voice to work.

  “Thank you for looking after Vianne. I’m sorry if she was a bother.”

  “She was as good as gold. Not a bother at all.”

  Nate turned and looked at Vianne and spoke quickly, his face angled so Adeline couldn’t see what he said.

  Vianne scowled at him and stomped over to a chair by the door.

  Nate faced Adeline again. “How much do I owe you for the doll?”

  “I’ll do you an invoice. We open the ward for the children to visit between two and four every afternoon bar Sunday.” She shuffled the papers on the reception desk. “I could have the invoice ready for you by tomorrow, once I’ve had a proper look at the doll. I’ll ring when she can go home. It should be around three to four days, to allow the glue time to set and for the paint to dry properly.”

  Movement from the door caught her eye. She glanced behind Nate to see Vianne waving at him. “…we come visit, please, Uncle Nate?”

  A shadow filled his eyes as he gazed at Vianne. When he turned back, Adeline realized she’d missed part of what he was saying. “…taken up enough of your time. Thank you again.” He moved to the door.

  Vianne got to her feet and took his outstretched hand. She looked directly at Adeline as she spoke. “Thank you for having me, and thank you for fixing my knee, and for looking after Amelia Jane.”

  Adeline smiled. “You’re welcome.” The light flashed to signify the door opening and as it closed, she looked down at Ben. “Well, I guess he had a bad day at work. He never seems that sad or grumpy in church.”

  Jasmine came into reception, pulling on her coat. She looked at Adeline, signing as she spoke. “Everything’s locked up tight. Was that Nate Holmes I just heard?”

  “Yes.” Adeline signed rapidly in response. “How do you know him?”

  “Other than from church, he’s Dane’s partner. He’s also one of the elders. You’ve seen him serving communion, just probably never realized he’s a cop. It’s not something he tends to advertise. Is everything all right?”

  “Everything’s fine. He came to pick Vianne up. You know, she didn’t take the hat off once, despite it being soaking wet.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. I’ve never seen her without a hat.”

  “What about school?”

  “No idea, have to ask Jodie. They’re in the same form. Hey, what are you doing Sunday?”

  Adeline thought for a moment. “Nothing as far as I know.”

  “Come with us for dinner after church.”

  “I’d love that. I’ll bring dessert. See you tomorrow.”

  “Sure, but no dessert. I’ve got that covered. Night.” Jasmine opened the door and headed into the fine drizzle.

  Adeline reached down and petted Ben. “Shall we go home?” She smiled as he licked her hand. “I wonder what made Sgt. Holmes so sad. We’ll pray for him tonight, see if that helps.”

  She shivered as something touched her heart, a heaviness she knew all too well—a pressing need to pray for the man who just left. A burden that wouldn’t wait until later, and a heaviness that wouldn’t lift until she’d done what the Lord wanted. Locking the front door, Adeline turned back towards her office, not knowing what to pray, just knowing she had to and had to do so now.

  2

  Saturday, unlike the day before, was blistering hot. Even with the fan on and the windows wide open, Adeline’s shirt was damp and sticking to her overheated skin. She was what her grandmother called a grease spot. Oh, the joys of an English summer, where you dress for the day and not for the season.

  Ben lay under the desk, panting hard, despite the bowl of water by his side. He still managed to tap her foot as the door opened.

  Adeline leaned down and patted his head, and then looked up. She smiled a welcome. “Hi.”

  Vianne skipped across reception to the desk, the pink and white striped dappy hat pulled down over her ears, braids swinging on either side. “Hello, Dr. Adeline. We’ve come to visit Amelia Jane.”

  “Sure. Susie will show you through.” She smiled as Vianne tugged free of her uncle’s hand and skipped after Susie. Adeline turned her attention to Nate. Dressed in a simple white tee shirt and beige slacks, he looked even more handsome than he had yesterday in his suit, tie and overcoat. Shivers ran down her spine, and her heart flip-flopped.

  “Would you like some coffee while she’s visiting?”

  “Coffee would be great, thank you. I have two sugars, no milk, please. And the invoice, if you have it done.”

  “I did it this morning.” Adeline pulled it from the drawer and handed it to him.

  Nate glanced down the sheet, his lips moving as he read.

  Adeline kept her smile to herself, knowing he hadn’t intended her to pick up on his immediate thoughts.

  His head jerked up and his gaze held hers. “Her eyes?”

  Adeline nodded. “Vianne asked me to look at them as the doll was blind. They were easy to fix. They’d simply come unattached.”

  “Oh, right. It’s a very old doll, belonged to her mother when she was a child.” He looked down again. “Do I pay now or…?”

  “When you pick her up is fine.” She turned her attention to pouring the coffee.

  His scent overpowered even the strong coffee she loved. He smelled of musk and spearmint. Did he know how captivating it was? Every nerve ending tingled with his nearness. She glanced down as Ben touched her foot, then back to Nate.

  “…place is set up.”

  Extrapolating quickly, Adeline guessed what he was asking. “I’ll give you a tour if you like.” She offered him the mug.

  “Thank you. That would be great.”

  Adeline led him through the door to the right. “Most of our work is done here. As you can see it’s laid out as you’d expect a workshop to be. Sometimes we have to order in parts, but most of them we have here already.”

  Nate glanced around. “How long has it been here?”

  “We’ve been on the High Street about a year. We moved from the original site in Datura Drive where we’d been since Dad started it thirty years ago. I’ve been running the place four years, since Dad retired.” She pushed open another door. “And this is the ward.”

  Nate’s expression became one of amazement much the same way Vianne’s had the day before as he glanced around. “Well, you certainly have lots of patients, Miss Monroe. Or should that be Dr. Monroe?”

  “Dad always used Doctor for the kids, since we were making their toys better. It seemed natural for me to do the same thing. But I prefer Dr. Adeline or Dr. A.”

  Nate sipped the coffee. “I owe you an apology for the way I spoke to you yesterday.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I put it down to a bad day in the office.”

  Nate nodded. “It wasn’t one of the best. But that’s no excuse for being rude. I should know better. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re forgiven. I prayed for you last night.”

  He looked completely gobsmacked. “You…you did?”

  “I always pray for the pastors and elders, but last night God laid you on my heart, especially.”

  “Thank you.” His eye
s softened, making a huge difference to his face. “I appreciate it.”

  She smiled at him. “You’re welcome.”

  Nate walked with her to the office.

  “So how do you manage if you can’t hear?”

  “I read lips and sign.”

  “How come you speak so well?”

  “I got the measles when I was five and lost my hearing, then. My mother insisted I carried on speaking and learned both lip reading and sign. She made the whole family learn. But Ben is my best asset.” She glanced at her faithful friend by her heels. “He’s my hearing dog. He tells me when the phone rings or the doorbell chimes or when the smoke alarm goes off. Or when someone wants my attention, and I haven’t noticed them.”

  “So a guide dog for the deaf, then?”

  “Yes. I’d be lost without him. He’s two now. I’ve had him six months.”

  Nate settled into the chair by her desk, his long legs stretched out. One hand rested on his thighs, the other held his coffee. He fixed his gaze on her, a long lazy smile curving his full lips. “I don’t remember the last time I just sat and did nothing.”

  “You should do it more often.”

  “Bit hard in my line of work. Especially with the case I’m currently involved in.” He took a long drink. “There are no leads, just—” He broke off. “You don’t want to hear this.”

  “If you want to talk, I’m happy to listen.” She smiled, waiting for him to catch the little joke.

  It took him a second. He grinned, at ease, and then his expression sobered. He took a long drink of his coffee, indecision playing over his face. “Thanks, but I really shouldn’t. It’s an ongoing investigation.”

  “All right. I’ll keep praying. And if you should change your mind, I’m here.”

  “Thank you.” He ran his fingers around the rim of the cup. “Have you done any kind of self-defense classes?”

  “I have Ben.”

  Nate took in the way Ben sat by her heels. “And as fierce as he is, a backup plan might be an idea. I run a self-defense course in the church hall on Monday evenings at seven. You’d be welcome to join us.”

  “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”