Chapter 23

Later in the afternoon, around four, there was a knock at the front door. He answered it to a rather rough-looking, though moderately attractive, woman in a vest and short skirt. She had a tattoo on her right arm and wore too much eyeliner.

“Where’s Mick?” she asked, her voice as coarse and rough as the rest of her.

Benjamin felt his muscles tense. His expression grew dark.

“I beg your pardon?”

The woman looked at him as though he were an idiot.

“I said, where’s Mick?”

“And who are you?” asked Benjamin, adopting a superior tone.

“His girlfriend, Fiona, if it’s any of your business.”

A thousand retorts flooded Benjamin’s mind, but he ignored them all. The sooner he got rid of this creature, the better.

“Down at the cottage. The one on the right.”

The woman glared at him, spun around and walked off purposely in the direction of the cottage

“Oh, don’t mention it,” he called out after her.