Read Online Tea and Primroses by Tess Thompson - Free Book Online Page B

The question was why. “Good. Well, come by Tuesday around six.”
    “I’ll bring wine.”
    Her heart thumped and the pain came again. “I wish my mother was here. She did love her red wine.”
    “I’ll bring her favorite.”
    It wasn’t until after she hung up that she wondered—how did he know what her favorite was?
    She sat at her mother’s desk, placing her hands on the keyboard and closing her eyes. If she was in her mother’s favorite place in the world, would she be able to feel her, maybe discern what happened to her? Thinking of Peter’s request, she began to examine the desk. It was bare except for the computer’s large screen and the wireless keyboard and a photo of Declan and her when she was eight or so, building a sand castle. Constance hated clutter.
    There were drawers on both sides of the desk. Sutton opened the right side. Inside was a stack of fresh computer paper. She was about to close it when something shiny caught the light in the back corner of the drawer. She opened it farther and reached back. It was a key, taped to the back of the drawer. It came loose easily with a small tug; she held it in her hand. It was small, like for a desk. But there was no lock that she could see on Constance’s desk, and she couldn’t think of any other desk in the house.
    Sutton opened the top left drawer. It held several pens; some stationery; a set of headphones; a new candle, pumpkin scented.
    She sat for a moment, listening to the sounds of waves crashing on the shore below. Was there a place in the house in which the key might fit? But nothing came to her.
    Just then, there was a knock on the French doors. She looked over to see Declan standing outside. “You okay?” he mouthed.
    She motioned for him to come inside. “I found something.” She held up the key. “Do you have any idea what this is to?”
    He took it from her, turning it over in the palm of his hand. “It’s to something small, like a drawer in a desk.”
    “That’s what I thought too but I can’t imagine to what. There are no desks but this one. None of the drawers in the kitchens or bedrooms have locks.”
    “So it must be to something in this desk. They sometimes have secret drawers.” He went to the desk and unplugged the keyboard, large screen, and laptop computer and moved them onto the sofa. Behind where the computer screen had been there was a cabinet. Declan opened it, revealing several drawers, none of which had a keyhole. He opened them. They were filled with paperclips, extra pens, and several empty notebooks similar to the one on the desk, filled with Constance’s chicken scratch notes and word count numbers. “The drawers seem short for the width of the desk.” Declan pulled the drawers all the way out. “I was right. Look, there’s something more in there.”
    Sutton peered into the space, squinting. “I can’t see anything but blackness.”
    “I have a light.” Declan reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a switchblade and a small light, no bigger than a quarter. He tossed the knife on the desk.
    “What? You just happen to carry a weapon around?” She picked up the knife, running her finger over the smooth, metal surface, before pushing the lever. The blade popped out. She cut an “S” in the air, the blade catching the sunlight and making a pattern on the desk.
    “I live in Europe. Sometimes I need a knife.”
    “For cutting bread and cheese while frolicking in the Italian countryside?” Her chest ached, thinking of his life. His life without her. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
    “Something like that.” He spoke softly and with the guarded tone he slipped into whenever she asked him something about his life. He shone the light into the space vacated by the drawers. Something shiny glimmered. “Ah ha. We have a keyhole.”
    Without a word, she set down the knife and handed him the key. He put it in the hole and turned. Like magic, the front of the drawer folded down, revealing