Tell Tale Read Online Free PDF Page A

He’s waiting.’ Nina guided her daughter out of the door. ‘Enjoy the concert.’ She touched a whisper of a kiss on Josie’s head and watched as the two most important people in her life drove away.
    Mick had blown into Nina’s life on a storm. The unseasonal summer winds had closed shipping channels in the estuary, and high-sided vehicles were banned from tall bridges. Warm rain lashed against the side of the crew van, and the wind buffeted it so that it rocked on its wheels. They had to shout to be heard above the noise.
    ‘I’m nearly done.’ Inside the van, Nina dabbed at the reporter’s cheeks with a make-up sponge. She was nervous. She’d seen him on the telly before and now here she was, streaking foundation across his nose.
    ‘Don’t see the bloody point,’ he growled, sounding quite different to the slick reporter she was used to seeing on TV. ‘It’s going to get washed off as soon as I step out there. What fool would be out in this weather, let alone go out to sea?’
    ‘The fool that you’re about to interview,’ the research assistant said, clutching a clipboard. ‘Nina, we’ve only got one minute.’
    Nina nodded. She worked quickly. It was her first proper job since leaving college. She’d done a few weeks’ work experience during her training and had subsequently applied for a permanent position at the news station when she’d qualified. The people were interesting, the pay was terrible, but she was doing what she loved, what she was good at. Changing people’s appearances.
    ‘All done,’ Nina said, snapping the cap back on the make-up bottle. ‘Oh, wait.’ She swiped a soft brush across the impatient reporter’s forehead. ‘There you go.’
    The door of the van slid open and a gust of wind stirred a mini tornado inside. The reporter was met by a film crew who were to shoot a short interview with a man who had saved a dog from the rough seas earlier that day. He in turn had needed rescuing, and the lifeboat had been called. Nina thought that this man could use some foundation as well. His cheeks were scarlet.
    She followed the team across the car park to the harbour wall, staggering as the wind blew her sideways. Her waterproof jacket billowed out like a loose spinnaker and she held her make-up bag close. Any touch-ups would bepointless in these conditions. She watched as the team set to work, interviewing the foolhardy man about his antics.
    ‘News must be in short supply,’ she said but her words were blown away. The wind whipped against her neck and her lips tasted salty. The entire crew looked fed up as they battled the weather to get their story. ‘I’ll be over here,’ Nina yelled but no one heard. Desperate for cover, Nina approached a wooden shelter that faced out to sea. She couldn’t stand the wind any longer.
    ‘Oh,’ she exclaimed as dozens of sheets of paper suddenly tumbled out of the shelter and blew around her feet. One wet piece wrapped round her ankle like an army gaiter. ‘Oh no,’ she cried, looking down. Grey and blue paint had smeared all over her black work trousers.
    ‘That’s amazing,’ said a deep voice. ‘The colours are absolutely perfect.’
    Nina looked up and squinted through the drizzle. Unlike hers, this voice didn’t seem to end up out at sea on the gale. A man had emerged from the shelter holding a paintbrush. She eyed him suspiciously.
    ‘The paint on your leg. It’s incredible.’
    ‘It is?’ Nina pulled the paper from her leg, but it started to tear. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ she said, but he didn’t hear. He was crouching, studying Nina’s trousers.
    ‘See how the ultramarine has combined with the viridian? The bleeding? The feathering?’ The man squinted at her hem. ‘It’s what I’ve been trying to achieve all day. And here you are, a casual stroller, and suddenly my vision appears on your leg.’ He stood up.
    ‘I’m not a casual stroller as such.’ Nina’s hair flapped around her face. The strands whipped at