Read Online Phi Beta Murder by C.S. Challinor - Free Book Online Page A

something to eat?”
    She looked like a lost child, standing in the room by her suitcase. His heart ached in pity.
    “There’s a Chinese take-out down the road.”
    Moira’s face brightened. “I adore Chinese.”
    “I remember. I’ll get the green tea if they have it.”
    “Rex … thank you.” Her brown eyes begged him for forgiveness.
    What a mess, Rex thought as he left the room. He didn’t look forward to explaining to the motel staff about the mirror, but they would have to send someone upstairs to clean up the glass before Moira stood on a jagged piece and hurt herself. He jogged down the concrete steps and crossed the softly sunlit parking lot. The bell on the reception door tinkled as he opened it. He took a preparatory breath. The middle-aged woman behind the counter glanced up at him with a courteous smile.
    “I have a situation,” he began. “First, I need to report a broken mirror.”
    Her face registered restrained surprise. “Did it just break?”
    “No. A woman I used to know followed me from Scotland. She got a wee bit carried away.”
    “Oh, she came in earlier. Short brunette? Sorry I gave out your room number. She was very insistent.”
    “I’m afraid she’s not well. She just returned from Iraq.”
    “Combat duty?”
    “Charity work, but she was caught in a bombing. She’s behaving irrationally. I need to arrange a flight for her back to Edinburgh in the morning, if at all possible. Can you take care of that?”
    “Sure. Coach or first class?”
    “Whatever is available. Preferably non-stop.” He didn’t want Moira changing her mind and flying back.
    Then he left a message for his mother, asking her to send someone from the Charitable Ladies of Morningside to meet Moira off the plane; he would call again later with the flight times. Moira could spend tonight in the spare bed, he supposed.
    Now for the food. He drove to the Red Dragon, where he ordered fried rice, chicken-cashew, and spicy beef and broccoli. “Oh, and a few packets of jasmine tea,” he asked the cashier.
    When he got back to the SUV, he thought about calling Helen from his cell phone, but he didn’t want to leave Moira alone too long and let the food get cold.
    By the time he returned to the room, the glass had been swept up and the mirror replaced. He called up reception to applaud the motel’s efficiency. Moira was singing in the bathroom to the accompaniment of water splashing in the tub. He found a couple of plates in the kitchenette and took them, along with the plastic knives and forks, to the balcony table. He then went back inside to boil water for the tea, wondering if he dared call Helen while Moira was in the bathroom. He doubted Helen would be asleep even at the late hour in England, but ultimately decided to wait until he had more time. All he needed to do, he told himself, was to keep Moira calm and get her on the next flight out in the morning.
    She came out of the bathroom, her hair straight and wet, her thin shoulders glistening above the white towel wrapped around her torso. “I hope you don’t mind, but I used up all the Pro Terra products.”
    “The motel will replenish the stock. Are you ready to eat?”
    “I’ll just slip into my bathrobe. Are we eating on the balcony? How lovely.”
    Rex brought the cartons of Chinese food to the table. The restaurant had thrown in two spring rolls and a couple of fortune cookies. Unfortunately, he no longer had much of an appetite.
    Moira joined him in her pink robe and lifted the tea bag out of her mug. “Pity we don’t have a candle. It’s nice out here, isn’t it?”
    The ocean gleamed dark and remote beyond a scattering of silhouetted palm trees, yet the scene failed to stir any romantic feeling in Rex.
    “You couldna do this in Baghdad. There’s a curfew at night and the temperature can drop dramatically.”
    “It must be difficult living out there,” Rex said, helping himself to the chicken-cashew.
    “Aye, you never feel safe, even in