The Cold Hand of Malice Read Online Free Page B

could snare Simon it would be Susan Chase, Laura’s older sister, although even that seemed unlikely after his experience of being dragged through the courts when his first wife Helen divorced him. Even so, Moira felt sure that Susan had been living in hopes, so it was ironic that she should be the one to introduce Simon to her sister.
    It was hard even now to think of Simon as a happily married man. Well, he’d seemed happy enough in the beginning, but Moira wasn’t so sure about now. He’d made a couple of remarks to Trevor about the amount of time Laura was spending away from home, and the way she seemed to have completely taken over control of the business. And if there was anything behind those remarks, it was quite possible that Simon might use that as an excuse to seek solace elsewhere.
    But for Laura to accuse her – and at the club, of all places! Moira had been taken so completely by surprise that she hadn’t been able to find the words to respond, so she’d been left standing with her mouth hanging open as Laura marched away. Now, reliving the scene of the night before, Moira felt the anger rising once again. If Laura really thought Simon was having it off with her, then the sooner she set her straight the better.
    She looked at the time. Ten past nine. The letter to her mother wouldn’t be picked up until tomorrow morning, but she could do with a breath of fresh air before bed, and Trevor and Simon wouldn’t be back for at least another hour, so she might as well take the letter to the postbox at the end of the street now. At least it was better than just sitting there fuming about Laura.
    The wind had been blowing steadily from the north throughout the day, but now it had shifted around to the east, which was never a good sign. It was trying to rain, and Moira kept her head down as she walked to the top of the road. Pembroke Avenue wasn’t very long; eight houses on either side, single, detached, each with its own generous plot of land, screened from its neighbour by trees, a tall hedge, or a stone wall. Solid, well-built older houses, many of which had been completely renovated and modernized over the years, each with their own driveway and garage. And yet there were still cars parked on both sides of the avenue. Signs of an affluent neighbourhood, Moira thought, and wondered if that would change with the skyrocketing price of oil and the falling price of houses.
    The Ballantynes’ house was the last but one on the odd-numbered side, and Moira had to pass the Holbrook’s house on her way to the postbox on the main road at the top end of Pembroke Avenue. She hadn’t given it so much as a glance on her way there, but with the wind behind her on her way back, she paused outside the house and looked up at the light in the bedroom window.
    Odd, she thought. Laura would never have the light on when she had one of her migraines, but that had been her excuse for not going to see the film tonight. Either she had recovered more quickly than usual, or she’d pretended to have a migraine to get out of going to see a film that neither she nor Moira had been keen on seeing in the first place. Not that she could blame Laura for that after begging off herself when Simon phoned to say that Laura had a migraine and had gone to bed.
    Moira started to move on, then paused. Why not? she thought. If the light was on that must mean that Laura was all right, so why not go in and have it out with her right now?
    Moira took out her key ring as she mounted the steps to the front door. Simon had given her a key when she’d offered to keep an eye on the house while he and Laura were away for a week just after Christmas, so she might as well make use of it now. If Laura was in bed, she might not come down to answer the doorbell, and even if she did, she might not let Moira in. No, better to take the woman by surprise and tackle her in her own bedroom. Moira stepped over the sill and closed the door behind her. She reached for