Read Online White Lies by Rachel Green - Free Book Online

for her whole body to become inflamed. It’d hurt, of course. Her clit was always ultrasensitive after an orgasm but wasn’t that the point? A bit of pain could enhance so many pleasures. She returned to the hall and slapped Jimmy on the bum. “You need practice.”
    “It’s been ten years. You’ll get no argument from me.” Jimmy grinned, reaching past her again, exactly as he did when she’d kissed him. He switched on the hall light.
    “Is that what you were doing last time? Switching on the light?” She felt mortified, having made such a fool of herself. What must he think of her? This was worse than the time Bryn Williams had asked if she was going to the Aberdovey dance hall and she’d said “yes please” only to learn he wanted her to babysit his two year old.
    “Yes, of course.”
    She thought his smile could guide a ship to harbor. “Oh. I thought you were making a pass.”
    “Ah.” Jimmy nodded. “That explains why you lunged at me then. I did wonder, seeing as we’d just discussed not having affairs with people you work with.”
    “Yes. Sorry.” Meinwen took a deep breath and looked at the hall while her heart rate returned from “embarrassing old bag” to “platonic friend.” Old floorboards with the varnish mostly rubbed off contrasted the large, flower-papered walls. “Shall we get on? I’d like to get to see the place on Chervil Court before it gets dark.”
    “Sure.” Jimmy pointed to the bulb. “That had blown when I arrived yesterday. The whole hall was pitch-black.
    “That must have been hairy.” The phrase brought Jimmy’s scrotum to mind and she turned away to hide her blush. “I haven’t seen wallpaper like this since my Aunty Glad died.”
    “I don’t think the house has changed since we were kids.” Jimmy led her into the living room and turned on the light. A new television dominated the space. It was probably as big as Meinwen’s whole kitchen.
    “New carpet, new telly, new sofa.” Meinwen went further inside. “You can smell the paint, too. He was doing this place up. Where did you put the paint and brushes?”
    “Er...nowhere. I haven’t seen them. There were some tins in the shed, I think, or maybe in the glory hole...” He stepped out into the hall and opened the cupboard under the stairs. “Yes. They’re here. A whole decorating kit, I think.”
    “That explains all the boxes. Either to get it out of the way for decorating or to get rid of it.”
    “I opened one. It was full of gym equipment. Wall bars, skipping ropes, that sort of thing.”
    “He was clearing the house then. If it was me I’d have done the living room and bedroom first, then the bathroom and kitchen and finally the rest of the house. My guess is he expected to do the rest together so you had input.”
    “Aye. Mebbe.” Jimmy glanced around, his gaze coming to rest on the sideboard. “Would you like a drink? He left me a variety.”
    “No thanks. I can’t process alcohol very well. A glass of wine sends me squiffy.” Meinwen returned to the hall, looking up until she could see the loft hatch through the gap between the stairs and the ceiling. “Sergeant Peters said one of John’s shoes was found down here. I haven’t seen the photographs so I don’t know where.”
    “Is that unusual?” Jimmy looked up. “It could have dropped through the gap, couldn’t it?”
    “I don’t know.” Meinwen glanced down at the floor, hoping to see the chalk outline of a shoe but was disappointed. “Ah, well. Onward and upward.”
    The upstairs was dustier than the ground floor and showed a large number of prints in the dust, both the heavy tread of workman’s boots and the flat, oval impressions made by forensic bootees. “We’re not going to get anything here.” She looked up at the loft hatch. “Did you go up?”
    Jimmy clenched his jaw. “I didn’t see the point to be honest. Not with the police coming here anyway. They’ll have had a poke around.”
    Meinwen nodded to the