Constable Evans 02: Evan Help Us Read Online Free

one front door stood wide open. “I didn’t think too much could happen in a place like this if you left the doors and windows open,” she added.
    “There are still cars on the street,” Evan said. “You can never be too careful with kids, can you?”
    “You’re right there.” She shook her head, giving him an exasperated smile. “She’s a little monkey, she is. Into everything the moment my back’s turned, aren’t you, you horrible little monster?” She nuzzled at the child’s neck, making the little girl stop crying and squeal with delight.
    Now that the trauma was over, Evan noticed that she was a good-looking young woman, although her bright red hair, plucked and pencilled eyebrows, and heavy makeup seemed out of place in Llanfair, as were the skimpy white shorts and Hawaiian print halter top she was wearing. Not that they didn’t suit her with those long legs …
    Evan forced his mind back to business. “Here for a holiday, are you?”
    The young woman looked up, the little girl still clinging to her neck. “No, we just moved here a couple of days ago.”
    “Moved here? For good, you mean?” Evan was surprised. Usually the village grapevine would have found out the moment anyone new arrived. This one seemed to have slipped in unnoticed.
    “I can’t say how good it will be yet.” The woman smiled again. There was a wistful quality to her smile. “I thought we’d give it a try here. I wanted her to grow up somewhere healthy and safe, away from all the drugs and crime.”
    “But why here?” Evan asked. “You’re not Welsh, are you?”
    She chuckled. “If you heard me trying to say Chlanfair, you’d know the answer to that one. No, I’ve no connections with the place, which is part of the attraction, I suppose.”
    “Then why here? Had you been here on holiday when you were a kid?”
    She paused for a moment, staring out past him to the green hillsides. Evan wondered if he was being too inquisitive. “I’m sorry, I’m giving you the third degree,” he said. “I’ll leave you to get back to your tea.”
    “I don’t really know what made me come here myself,” she said as he started to move away. “I’d never even seen the place before—not in the flesh anyway. I’d, uh, heard about it and it just seemed like a good place to bring up a kid.”
    “So what do you think about it now that you’re here?” Evan asked.
    She glanced up and down the street. A couple of men were walking past on their way to the pub, hands in their pockets and their caps pulled down over their eyes. A woman came out of her cottage further down the row and yelled back a torrent of Welsh insults as she left.
    The young woman turned back to Evan. “I didn’t expect it to be so … foreign. There’s no way I’ll ever learn to talk Welsh. I suppose I’ll always be an outsider.”
    “Give them time,” Evan said. “They’re friendly enough, once they get used to you. It’s just that we Welsh are a little shy and suspicious around strangers.”
    “You don’t seem too shy.” The woman gave him a challenging smile.
    “Ah well, it’s my job, isn’t it?” Evan could feel himself flushing and cursed his fair Celtic skin that showed the least embarrassment.
    “So you’re the local bobby, are you?”
    Evan nodded. “Constable Evans. I run the community police station here.”
    She managed to free one arm while the little girl still clung to her and extended her hand to him. “Pleased to meet you, Constable Evans. I’m Annie. Annie Pigeon.”
    “Nice to meet you, Annie.” Evan took her hand. “Welcome to Llanfair. If you need any help, just come to me.” He gave her a friendly smile. “I’d better get going. I’ve got to report in to HQ before I close up shop for the night. See you around then, Annie, and you too, Jenny. No more running out into the street without your mum, okay?”
    The little girl glanced at him shyly then buried her head in her mother’s shoulder.
    “She’s kind of shy