Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
Ettie had been unsettled since Morgan’s visit, then she’d gone into Kendal to M they wouldn’t have known about the tragic incident.
She picked up the paper, folding it in half, and tucked it into her shopping trolley.
That would mean that one of Morgan’s colleagues had snapped it and sold her out.
That thought gave Ettie a cold shiver that ran the full length of her spine.
There was a spy in the ranks, and she didn’t like that for Morgan.
Hadn’t they been through enough finding out that one of their own was a serial killer?
Ettie had felt so bad when she’d heard the news about Angela.
She had been a good woman, a brilliant social worker, and had suffered terribly at the hands of her estranged son.
Ettie sighed, what was the world coming to?
She was going to have to tell Morgan about this, so she knew there was another snake in their midst.
After browsing the food hall, she paid for her stuff and decided to treat herself to a cappuccino in the café, before driving back home.
Ernest was coming for supper, and she’d busied herself in the kitchen, her favourite place of all.
Max was as fidgety as a cat on a hot tin roof this evening, and he’d been in and out of the window more times than she could count.
Hopping in to watch her and then hopping back out, chattering so loud she wished she could speak fluent corvid, so she knew what was making him so edgy.
Finally, he came back in and just stared at her. Ettie flung her hands in the air.
‘What is the matter with you tonight? Shouldn’t you be nesting somewhere, ready for bed, why are you so antsy? You’re putting me on edge.’
Max bowed his head, his way of saying sorry, and she put down the wooden spoon she was stirring the béchamel sauce with to go and stroke his soft head.
Ettie never tired of how his soft feathers felt like velvet to her fingertips, and she gently scratched him in his favourite spot.
‘What’s wrong, old friend, you are not yourself. Are you well?’
Max looked up and stared into her eyes, then gave a curt nod.
‘Good, I am glad you are. Then why all this fuss, is it because Ernest is coming for supper?’
Another nod, and Ettie smiled at him. ‘He’s a friend, nothing more.
He will never take your place; you know that right?
’ She bent down and kissed his beak. He let out a gentle caw and rubbed his head against hers.
‘We’re good, you are my priority. I just get a little lonely, Max, and sometimes it’s good to speak to another human now and again.
Not all the time mind, because we don’t particularly like most of them, do we, but I’m not getting any younger and it’s nice to be wined and dined.
You get that, right, you have Esme, don’t you, when she’s around?
Don’t think I haven’t noticed the pair of you flirting in the branches of that old oak tree, because I have. ’
Max squawked and hopped from one leg to the other.
‘See we both need a bit of company, and I’m so happy in my heart for you that you have a mate. Can you be a little happy for me and a little less overprotective maybe?’
He gave another soft caw and hopped back outside, hopefully to go find Esme, his new mate, whom Ettie had named and fallen in love with.
She was a little shy and sometimes perched outside the window on the sill or on the fence.
She would watch as Max came in and out, but Ettie thought that maybe soon she would follow him inside and that would be wonderful.
Three soft knocks on her front door made her wipe her hands on the apron she was wearing and do a quick fit check in the glass of one of her floral portraits, to check her white hair hadn’t escaped its bun too much and wasn’t looking wild. She opened the door and smiled.
‘Good evening, Ernest.’
‘Good evening, Ettie, something smells wonderful.’ He held out a small bouquet of wildflowers, and she felt her cheeks tinge with two circles of hot pink.
‘Thank you, they’re beautiful. You are such a charmer, come in and I’ll fix you a drink.’
She led him inside; he had to duck to fit under her door frame just like Ben did on the rare occasion he visited her. The cottage had low ceilings which didn’t affect her, as she was only just over five foot two. She pointed to the sofa.
‘Take a seat, would you like a glass of wine, a beer, tea, coffee or a glass of juice?’
‘So much choice, what are you having?’
‘I think I’d like a glass of wine; I have a bottle of white in the fridge if you’d care to join me?’
Ernest glanced at the door. ‘I suppose I could have a small one, I have to drive home. I’m far too lazy to walk tonight. It’s so cold out there.’
Ettie smiled. ‘Well, my sofa is always free if you ever need to stay overnight. I do have a spare bedroom but I’m afraid it’s full to the brim with books and empty jars. I need to have a clear out, but you know, a woman can never have enough empty jars in her life.’
‘Or books.’
‘Yes, books maybe more so.’
‘Thank you, Ettie, I’ll see how I feel after a small glass. I appreciate the offer though.’
She turned away so he couldn’t see the grin on her face.
She was being a brazen hussy, and it wasn’t like her, but she had decided she really liked the man, and if there was one thing she did know, time wasn’t a luxury afforded to many.
Look at poor Angela, cut down when she had truly found happiness.
It had broken her heart when she heard the awful news of her murder, and she was glad that she’d had fun and found love with Cain.
Ettie wasn’t going to mess around with Ernest; he was sweet and a gentleman, too everything she could ask for.
She poured out two small glasses of the nicely chilled Chardonnay and passed one to him.
He raised his glass, gently clinking it against hers.
‘To new friendships, good company and even better food.’
Ettie laughed.
‘You have high expectations, would you think badly of me if I told you most of it was from M&S?’
Ernest laughed so loud it filled the air inside the cottage and made her grin as he shook his head and gave her a little clap.
‘I love how honest you are, Ettie, it’s a real breath of fresh air, and let me share a little secret with you.
I also do most of my shopping there, and I always buy the yellow stickered stuff, so if you are ever brave enough to come to mine for a meal, there’s a pretty decent chance I wouldn’t have cooked it from scratch either and it may or may not give you food poisoning because it’s out of date. ’
Ettie smiled at him and sighed, he was almost too good to be true.