Knife Edge Read Online Free PDF Page B

grass verge, walking around the side of the house to where her own car was parked. The seat felt cold against the back of her legs when she got in, but she turned the heater up to full, and the radio on, to make things more comfortable.
    He was the same person he’d always been.
    There had to be a reason for it all, some hidden truth that would make sense of the little she knew. He would open up to her in time, tell her what had happened, help her to understand. It would be all right. He loved her and she loved him. For now, she just had to be patient, not do anything stupid, not drive him away.
    The main road wasn’t too busy as she turned out of the lane – she had missed the worst of the traffic. On the outskirts of Salisbury, a good song on the radio caught her attention, and she turned up the volume, singing along as she approached the city centre.
    The car park was almost full when she bumped up onto the entrance ramp, but she threaded her way round to a narrow space and manoeuvred in between the white lines. The music died as she switched off the ignition and she sat for a moment, her hand on the door handle.
    Rob had been honest with her. However bad it was, however difficult it had been to hear, he had respected her too much to lie.
    All she had to do was keep the secret.
    She stepped out into the cool morning, locking the car before hurrying out onto the pavement to join the stream of people, all on their way to a normal Monday at the office.
    She could do this. She would make it work.
    A breeze squalled along the street behind her, whipping strands of her hair around into her face as she stopped outside the familiar white-brick building.
    She wouldn’t let him down.
    The reception door was sticking as usual, but she gave it a good push and felt it open. Taking a deep breath and sighing out a false smile for her colleagues, she went inside.

5
Monday,
2
June
    Naysmith stood with his back to the street, studying the reflection in the window. Across the road, he could see Kim pause, a diminutive figure in navy blue, thrown into sharp contrast against the white-brick exterior of the building. He watched as she pushed back her hair, then stepped up to the reception door and passed inside.
    As the door closed, he bowed his head and allowed himself a small smile.
    It had been a curious experience, following someone he knew so well – and, more importantly, someone who knew
him
. A very different feeling from the usual pursuit of strangers, a different kind of challenge. But stimulating nonetheless.
    With a final glance up at the building, he turned and strode back down the street, weaving his way between the other pedestrians on the narrow pavements. He wasn’t really surprised she’d gone straight to work, but this would be their first full day apart since he’d told her, and it was reassuring to see that she hadn’t tried anything, hadn’t panicked. It couldn’t have been easy for her – there had been so much for her to take in over the past week – but he was encouraged that his trust in her looked to be well placed.
    So far.
    His car was tucked away down a side street, but thankfully it hadn’t been there long enough to get a parking ticket. There had been no opportunity to find anywhere better during his pursuit, and he couldn’t have risked Kim seeing him or the car. He got in and settled back into the seat, allowing his body to relax a little as he shut his eyes.
    What would he have done if she’d gone somewhere else? If she’d turned left at the end of the lane instead of right? His pulse had certainly quickened as they’d approached the main police station on Wilton Road, but she hadn’t slowed, or pulled over. His brave and beautiful girl had driven straight on. She had overcome her fear and accepted what he’d started to tell her.
    He opened his eyes and stared out at the people hurrying along the street, anxious about getting to work, unaware of who was in their midst. They were all blind,