Read Online Laura Marlin Mysteries 1: Dead Man's Cove eBook by Lauren St. John - Free Book Online

were the same.

    ‘There’s one thing I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘If the Mukhtars are so respected in St Ives, why are you telling me I should be worried about Mr Mukhtar? Don’t you trust him?’

    Mrs Crabtree tossed the shears into a nearby bucket and removed her pink gloves. ‘To be truthful, I’m not a fan of either of the Mukhtars even if they do sell the best produce in town. Well, it’s that poor, sad boy, isn’t it? He’s a reflection of the things that aren’t being said. He’s a reflection of what’s going on behind closed doors.’

    Mrs Crabtree had done no more than confirm Laura’s suspicions about Mr Mukhtar, but she thought it wise to avoid antagonising the man unnecessarily. For the remainder of that third week in St Ives she stayed away from the North Star, because each time she ventured anywhere near it, Mr Mukhtar seemed to be in residence. From her sheltered position on the balcony of the holiday flats opposite, Laura could make out his shadowed bulk through the salt-speckled window of the store. The slim frame of Tariq appeared only rarely.

    Once, she’d disturbed two seagulls and Mr Mukhtar had been alerted by their screams. Without warning, he’d pressed his face flat against the window and stared menacingly in her direction. Laura was well-hidden, but her heart had skipped a beat. It was as if he could see through concrete. She glared at the departing birds. She’d been joking when she’d asked Mrs Crabtree if she had seagulls spying for her, but it wasn’t such a far-fetched idea. It was uncanny how much her neighbour seemed to know.

    But, Laura told herself, Mrs Crabtree didn’t know everything. She hadn’t known about ‘J’, for instance, although her ears had pricked up when Laura asked her if she’d ever heard of anyone with the initial ‘J’ living at, or visiting number 28 while Calvin Redfern had been in residence.

    ‘Is there some mystery about this person? Ooh, I do love an intrigue,’ she’d said. Laura had been saved from answering by the arrival of Mrs Crabtree’s sister. She planned to heed her neighbour’s advice and continue to be wary of Mr Mukhtar, but she had no intention of staying away from Tariq. Not now she knew he was alone in the world except for the Mukhtars. Not now she was even more certain he needed a friend.

    But there was to be no repeat of their afternoon at the Island and splashing in the surf of Porthgwidden Beach. As winter gave way to spring in St Ives, Mrs Mukhtar never again offered to mind the store so that Tariq and Laura could enjoy the sunshine. Mostly Laura just hung around in the cool half-light of the North Star as Tariq served customers or stacked shelves.

    If there were people in the store, she’d sit quietly to one side of the counter until they were gone. But the tourists had not yet arrived with their surfboards and broods of children clamouring for Cornish pasties and ice-creams, and much of the time business was slow. Those were the afternoons Laura loved best. She’d tell Tariq stories about Sylvan Meadows, or complain about that Kevin Rutledge. When she read aloud to him from her Matt Walker books, Tariq became completely entranced.

    Sometimes she wondered how much he took in. She found it peculiar that he seemed to understand English but could not speak a word beyond her name or the occasional hello. Not that it bothered her. To her, the most important thing was that, as she read to him or chatted about her day, the tension seemed to melt from his thin shoulders. What’s more, she could feel the same thing happening to her. Their friendship might have been an unconventional one, but it made her smile. She felt a bond with Tariq. For the first time in her life, she had a best friend.

    Often she had the feeling that he was bursting to talk to her. He’d open his mouth and appear to be on the verge of saying something, but he’d always clamp it closed again. The shutters in his amber eyes would