Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea Read Online Free

said. “It’s the kind of thing that happens to other people. If I didn’t have a pile of suitcases in the front hall to anchor me, I’d still doubt that it was happening to us. I’m not used to being hated. Okay,” I admitted, after a moment’s consideration, “Sally Pyne was annoyed with me when I said that her flower arrangement in the baptismal font at St. George’s looked top-heavy, but she didn’t hate me.”
    Nor could anyone who knows you.Would it help you to think of Abaddon’s hatred as abstract rather than personal?
    “Nope,” I said. “I feel as if I have a bull’s-eye on my forehead, Dimity. It doesn’t get much more personal than that.”
    No, I’m afraid it doesn’t.When do you leave?
    “Tomorrow morning,” I replied.
    Will you be safe here tonight?
    “Presumably,” I said, and told her about Ivan Anton and his crew of security specialists. “And before you ask,” I continued, “I don’t know where we’re going. Bill won’t tell me, because he’s afraid I’ll slip up and tell someone else and then—Finch being the gossip capital of the world—our secret location won’t be a secret anymore.”
    Your openness is one of your most endearing qualities, Lori, but it’s a bit of a liability when it comes to the keeping of secrets. I must say that you’re responding to the situation with remarkable tranquillity.
    “Amazing, isn’t it?” I said. “I should be tearing my hair out right about now, but I don’t have the energy. There’s been too much to do. On top of the packing, I’ve had to make at least a thousand phone calls to cancel this and reschedule that. I’ll tell you, Dimity, you never realize how complicated your life is until you’re forced to rearrange it.”
    Very true.
    “I’ve penciled in a fit of hysteria for tomorrow evening, though,” I added. “I think I’ll owe it to myself by then, don’t you?”
    Absolutely. I’m sure it will be most cathartic. Have you told Rob and Will about Abaddon?
    “Bill told them that we’re going away because a bad man wants to hurt us.” I shook my head. “I didn’t want to tell them anything, but Bill convinced me that they’d be safer if they were aware of the danger.”
    How did they react?
    “Like five-year-olds,” I said with a wry smile. “They went into their twin mind-meld and came out with: ‘Don’t worry, Daddy, we’ll be careful. May we bring our cricket bats?’ ”
    Splendid. They clearly have complete confidence in your ability to protect them, which is as it should be.Will Annelise accompany you?
    “No,” I replied. “It was a tough decision, and Annelise isn’t happy about it—she feels as if she’s abandoning us in our hour of need—but it’s the right thing to do. We don’t want to drag her any deeper into our troubles than she already is. Bill and I decided that her family’s farm would be the safest place for her until Abaddon’s locked up.”
    I agree.The Sciaparelli clan knows how to look after its own. At times like this, it’s extremely useful for a young woman to have seven muscular and highly protective brothers nearby.What about Stanley? The cats I’ve known haven’t been terribly fond of travel. Are you going to bring him with you? Or will Mr. Anton take care of him?
    “Stanley’s going into protective custody at Anscombe Manor,” I explained. Anscombe Manor was the sprawling home of our closest friends, Emma and Derek Harris, and of their stable master, Kit Smith. “Emma’s promised to keep an eye on Stanley, and Kit won’t let any harm come to the boys’ ponies.”
    I suspect that Kit will sleep in the stalls, armed with a pitchfork, until the danger passes.
    “It wouldn’t surprise me one bit,” I said. “Kit’s a man of peace, except when it comes to people who hurt animals.”
    Well.You seem to have everything in hand.
    “Yep.” I nodded.
    You’ve rearranged your affairs with great composure.
    “That’s right.”
    The packing is finished, the