Come Clean (1989) Read Online Free PDF

not prone to
worry, so whatever it was must be serious. Conceivably, he felt special grief or hopelessness about their marriage this morning, though she doubted it: they had both become toughened to that
failure for months now. More likely, Harpur’s visit last night signified a delicate and probably messy police problem that he and Des did not feel comfortable discussing in headquarters,
maybe a coming operation, maybe aftermath. Private meetings between the two did happen now and then and the best china came out fairly often these days.
    ‘Is there something you want to talk about, Des?’ she had asked, knowing the answer.
    ‘Nothing pressing, love. Is there something
you
want to talk about? The bridge evening?’
    ‘You’re not interested in bridge.’
    ‘Right. Not in bridge.’ He smiled a bit wearily, a bit sadly. ‘Oh, look, forgive the show of self-pity, will you? Put it down to colic.’
    She left it at that. Generally they did leave the potentially hurtful topics like that – hinted at, skirted. Still feeling low after he left for work, she rang Margot, the counsellor who
helped her occasionally, and was able to make an appointment for later in the morning. God, her marriage problems were getting to be like bad teeth, needing rush treatment at agonizing moments.
    Always she dressed for full impact when seeing Margot, to make it clear that although she might sound down and desperate there was still plenty of fight in her. Today, she did a thorough job on
her hair, improved all key zones with Rive Gauche, and wore pieces of her zappiest jewellery. She reckoned she looked pretty positive in a strained way, but did not feel any better. And when she
saw Ralph, she felt much worse.
    ‘I want to make it clear there’s nothing to worry about,’ he said now, as they drove. ‘This is a precautionary visit, very much so. May I say I love your
perfume?’
    ‘Have you had breakfast?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘How long have you been there? Dawn? What’s so urgent, Ralph?’
    ‘Please, I don’t want you to worry. Your breathing, it’s very fast.’
    ‘I had school colours for it.’
    He sat back and had a nice, long avuncular chuckle about that, tapering it sweetly from very, very amused indeed to just very, very amused. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘I like someone who
keeps a sense of humour, regardless.’
    ‘That’s the thing about senses of humour, they must be regardless.’
    ‘Laughter is certainly an antidote. That’s well known.’
    ‘Yes it is.’ None of the fear had ebbed and her body was stiffly arched as she drove. Sweat began to run from her head and neck down between her shoulders, and would soon be making a
nonsense of the Rive Gauche. For one moment, to her astonishment, she found herself wishing that Des were with her to cope with this man. Absurd as well as feeble: if Des had been around, Ralph
would never have shown himself.
    He sat half-turned towards her, his knees together, almost touching the gear lever, hands interlaced demurely in his lap. From the corner of her eye as she drove she could just about make out
that he was smiling gently, and when he spoke his voice sounded light and friendly. He was making an effort to seem innocuous, and she found it creepy. ‘I’ve known your Ian Aston for
years and years,’ he said. ‘You can’t go wrong there.’
    ‘Thanks.’
    ‘Ian’s a man I’d always stand by.’
    ‘Grand. I’ll just drive around the park and the lake and then take you back to near your car, Ralph. I can’t be long. I’m on my way somewhere.’
    ‘Of course.’ For a while he grew silent and watched from the side window, apparently content. Then he turned and said: ‘You’re bound to wonder what all this is about. I
understand, perfectly.’ He swung away slightly in the passenger seat, so that he was looking from the side window again. When she glanced towards him, she could see only the line of his nose
and jaw, with its smooth, white scar. Despite that