me why you won’t leave the island.’
Her eyes drifted away then, to find focus somewhere in her thoughts. ‘Maybe that’s because I can’t.’
‘Can’t or won’t?’
‘Can’t, Mr Mackenzie. You see, I have no real idea why. It’s just a feeling I have. Very powerful. Something inside me that I can’t explain. My mother was the same. Hated to leave the island. And it killed her in the end. She wouldn’t go over to Cap aux Meules to see the doctor, so they didn’t find the cancer until it was much too late.’ She refocused on her interrogator. ‘It’s like …’ she searched for words to give form to the thought, ‘… like I’m waiting for something. And if I leave I might miss it.’
He raised his right hand to sweep wet hair back from his forehead and saw more than heard her gasp. She reached out to take his hand in both of hers and turn the back of it towards her. She canted her head to one side and a frown formed between her brows.
‘Where did you get this?’
Sime took his hand away from her and looked at the gold signet ring on his third finger. He had been wearing it for so long he had almost forgotten it was there. ‘Why?’
She took his hand back and ran her thumb over the engraved surface of the oval red stone set into the gold. ‘It’s carnelian.’
‘What’s that?’
‘A semi-precious stone. Very hard. Ideal for engraving.’ She glanced up, the strangest look in her eyes. Confusion. Even fear. ‘You know what the engraving is?’
She was still holding his hand. He looked at the ring again. ‘To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it. Looks like a crooked arm holding a sword.’
‘Where did you get it?’ she asked again. More insistent this time.
He pulled his hand away. ‘It was my father’s. Passed down through the family, I guess. I got it when he died.’
She stared at him for a long time with a strange, silent intensity, then looked down again at his hand. ‘I have a pendant,’ she said. ‘Bigger. But oval, and set in gold, with exactly the same symbol engraved in the carnelian. I’d swear it was identical.’
Sime shrugged. ‘It was probably fashionable at some time in history. I bet there’s thousands of them out there.’
‘No.’ Her contradiction was sharp and its vehemence startled him. ‘It really is identical. A family crest of some sort. I’ve looked at it hundreds of times. I can show you it.’
In spite of his curiosity, Sime was wary of indulging her in this bizarre turn of events. ‘I don’t think that would serve any purpose. And, anyway, you can’t go back into the big house for the moment. Not while it’s still a crime scene under investigation.’
‘I don’t need to. The pendant’s here. I brought most of my personal stuff back into the summerhouse after James left. Including my jewellery box.’ She turned and hurried into the house. Sime stood for a moment with the rain whipping in under the eaves, and felt infused by the oddest sense of uncertainty. He had already been unsettled by his sense of knowing her. Now this. He looked at the engraving on the ring. It could only be some kind of bizarre coincidence. He pushed through the screen door back into the sitting room as Blanc brought the flight cases containing the monitors through from the bedroom.
Kirsty ran down the stairs holding a polished wooden box inlaid with mother-of-pearl. She set it on the coffee table in front of the fireplace and knelt to open the lid. Blanc glanced from Sime to Kirsty and back again, the almost imperceptible raising of one eyebrow asking his silent question. Sime’s response was the merest of shrugs. Both men turned their heads at the sound of her gasp of frustration.
‘It’s not here.’
The curiosity that Sime had felt out on the porch was replaced now by a burgeoning cynicism. He walked over to the coffee table and stood above her as she knelt in front ofit, searching through the clutter of jewellery inside the open box. Then
Her eyes drifted away then, to find focus somewhere in her thoughts. ‘Maybe that’s because I can’t.’
‘Can’t or won’t?’
‘Can’t, Mr Mackenzie. You see, I have no real idea why. It’s just a feeling I have. Very powerful. Something inside me that I can’t explain. My mother was the same. Hated to leave the island. And it killed her in the end. She wouldn’t go over to Cap aux Meules to see the doctor, so they didn’t find the cancer until it was much too late.’ She refocused on her interrogator. ‘It’s like …’ she searched for words to give form to the thought, ‘… like I’m waiting for something. And if I leave I might miss it.’
He raised his right hand to sweep wet hair back from his forehead and saw more than heard her gasp. She reached out to take his hand in both of hers and turn the back of it towards her. She canted her head to one side and a frown formed between her brows.
‘Where did you get this?’
Sime took his hand away from her and looked at the gold signet ring on his third finger. He had been wearing it for so long he had almost forgotten it was there. ‘Why?’
She took his hand back and ran her thumb over the engraved surface of the oval red stone set into the gold. ‘It’s carnelian.’
‘What’s that?’
‘A semi-precious stone. Very hard. Ideal for engraving.’ She glanced up, the strangest look in her eyes. Confusion. Even fear. ‘You know what the engraving is?’
She was still holding his hand. He looked at the ring again. ‘To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it. Looks like a crooked arm holding a sword.’
‘Where did you get it?’ she asked again. More insistent this time.
He pulled his hand away. ‘It was my father’s. Passed down through the family, I guess. I got it when he died.’
She stared at him for a long time with a strange, silent intensity, then looked down again at his hand. ‘I have a pendant,’ she said. ‘Bigger. But oval, and set in gold, with exactly the same symbol engraved in the carnelian. I’d swear it was identical.’
Sime shrugged. ‘It was probably fashionable at some time in history. I bet there’s thousands of them out there.’
‘No.’ Her contradiction was sharp and its vehemence startled him. ‘It really is identical. A family crest of some sort. I’ve looked at it hundreds of times. I can show you it.’
In spite of his curiosity, Sime was wary of indulging her in this bizarre turn of events. ‘I don’t think that would serve any purpose. And, anyway, you can’t go back into the big house for the moment. Not while it’s still a crime scene under investigation.’
‘I don’t need to. The pendant’s here. I brought most of my personal stuff back into the summerhouse after James left. Including my jewellery box.’ She turned and hurried into the house. Sime stood for a moment with the rain whipping in under the eaves, and felt infused by the oddest sense of uncertainty. He had already been unsettled by his sense of knowing her. Now this. He looked at the engraving on the ring. It could only be some kind of bizarre coincidence. He pushed through the screen door back into the sitting room as Blanc brought the flight cases containing the monitors through from the bedroom.
Kirsty ran down the stairs holding a polished wooden box inlaid with mother-of-pearl. She set it on the coffee table in front of the fireplace and knelt to open the lid. Blanc glanced from Sime to Kirsty and back again, the almost imperceptible raising of one eyebrow asking his silent question. Sime’s response was the merest of shrugs. Both men turned their heads at the sound of her gasp of frustration.
‘It’s not here.’
The curiosity that Sime had felt out on the porch was replaced now by a burgeoning cynicism. He walked over to the coffee table and stood above her as she knelt in front ofit, searching through the clutter of jewellery inside the open box. Then
Similar Books
