Page 77 of Tears of Ink

“I’m working on the Melanie Duncan case.” He’s focused on his fingers, his thumbs running patterns along my palm.

What’s the Melanie Duncan case—it sounds familiar, but...?

I shift uneasily. “Okay, don’t judge me, but I’m usually locked in a small place playing with clay.”

There’s a flash of a smile peeking out from under the tired expanse of his face.

“Melanie Duncan is the woman who blew the whistle on sexual harassment in her workplace.” He lifts his head from our joined hands.

“That’s brave of her.”

“Yes, it was. What she went through…” He hesitates, and my palms tingle with what I know could turn into nervous sweat.

“So you’re helping her bring the scum down.” My brain wants to lead me on a dark and horrific path down memory lane, but I fight it and stay in the moment with Elijah.

“I’m helping her family.”

With a shake of my head, I make my confusion clear.

His fingers grip mine and I love their firm touch covered in soft skin. I want them everywhere: I want his lips on my mouth, his body next to mine. I’m so distracted by the warmth of his hands I almost forget we are in the middle of a conversation.

“She killed herself.”

The warm run of liquid anticipation freezes, and I stare into his face in shock. “What, when? Because of what happened?”

“Because at first no one believed her, because she had to explain to her husband what had been happening in what should have been a safe place.” He shrugs his shoulders, but deep in the blues I see fierce compassion for a woman now passed, that stills the wild beating of my heart.

“So what are you doing now?”

“I’m helping to get justice for her family. They shouldn’t have to be without a wife and mother because of a corrupt society that turns a blind eye to such horrors.”

The room seems to become smaller. The universe shrinking as my lonely path crosses with that of Elijah Fairclough and changes everything that I thought I knew. “No, they shouldn’t.”

“So what happened for you to be called before dawn this morning?” I ask, swallowing the lump around my throat.

“Lewis, Melanie’s son, was arrested for breaking and entering.”

“What?” I sit a little straighter.

Elijah shakes his head and lets go of a heavy breath of air. “It was silly, but he’s so full of anger.”

“What was he doing?”

“He was graffitiing the office block his mother worked in.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” The blues settle on my face.

“What now? When is the case due in court?”

“Not until October, and actually that’s something I want to talk to you about.”

His leading sentence makes me wince. I’m not giving away any secrets about myself, no matter how cosy we are in my pink room.

“What?”

“I’ve brought Lewis here. He needs to be away from the city, away from the demons chasing him.” The blues couldn’t read me any harder if they tried. “I was hoping you’d let him hang here with you.”