‘Good, me, too. Perhaps Graham and I can take you on more of the lake walks.’
‘Sounds like a plan. What’s Owen like?’
‘He’s okay. I got on well with him, but I wouldn’t call him more than a colleague. He worked mainly on general news, whereas I mostly covered crime and court stuff. It became my thing. I think that’s why I write detective books. It gave mea chance to dish out some justice instead of reporting it. My readers get the chance to work alongside DCI Rudyard to solve the cases.’
‘I’m halfway through your first novel. It’s very good, if not the best thing to read before settling down for the night.’
‘No, especially when you get a bit further along.’ Jack winked. ‘I can tell you what happens if you don’t want to read on.’
‘Of course not! I just prefer lighter stuff. But for you, I’ll make an exception.’
There was a knock on the door, and a man in his late thirties came in. He was nothing remarkable, eyes too close together and a nose pushed to the right that seemed to have been broken. He had short brown hair, a tidy appearance in jeans and a jacket with an open-necked shirt.
‘Ah, here he is.’ Jack stood up, strode across the room, and offered his hand. ‘Good to see you, Owen.’
‘Likewise, Jack.’ Owen smiled. ‘It’s been a while.’
Jack nodded. ‘Thanks for covering everything so respectably.’
‘I’d like to say it was a pleasure, but even so, it was an honour.’
‘Owen did a lovely write-up of Dan after his death,’ Jack explained to Ava. ‘Owen, this is Ava. She’s the one you’ll be working with mostly. Ava is responsible for the redesign of the website, social media, and promotional things for the hotel. I should be overseeing her, but she doesn’t need any supervision. She’s doing just fine.’
Ava blushed but saw it as her cue to reach her hand across the table. She smiled. ‘Pleased to meet you, Owen.’
‘Nice to meet you, too. I’ve been sent some clips of what you need me to cover.’ He pulled out a chair. ‘Is this your first time visiting Sapphire Lake?’
Jack and Ava shared a look.
‘I used to spend the summer holidays here when I was young,’ Ava explained. ‘I have fond memories.’
‘Ava and I go back a long way,’ Jack said, causing Owen to raise his eyebrows. He was obviously hoping to hear more. But thankfully, Jack wasn’t forthcoming.
‘Right, then.’ Owen clapped his hands together. ‘Let’s get down to business.’
The discussion lasted about forty minutes before Jack had to take a call on his phone. He pointed to the door afterwards. ‘I have to attend to something. I won’t be more than ten minutes.’
Ava smiled, watching the back of him as he left the room. ‘Jack told me that you worked together a lot until he left,’ she said to Owen.
He nodded. ‘He was my right-hand man.’
Ava said nothing, keeping her face straight. Perhaps there was some truth in it, but somehow, she couldn’t see it.
‘You and Jack,’ Owen queried. ‘Are you an item?’
Ava’s eyes returned to his. ‘We haven’t seen each other for over twenty years.’
‘Oh, I thought you’d been visiting more regularly than that.’
‘I came from the age of twelve to sixteen. My father died then, so I guess Mum never felt the need to come back. I soon forgot it as a childhood memory. So it’s nice to see how much has changed.’
‘Indeed.’ He laughed. ‘I’m sure you’ll find that Jack has.’
Ava frowned. For some reason, Owen’s tone was off. Was he testing her out? If so, she didn’t like him doing that. On first sight, and with the welcome he’d given her, she had thought he seemed quite nice. Already that opinion had changed. She glanced at the clock on the wall, wishing Jack would be back soon.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jack returned within a few minutes, and in that time, Owen had brought things round to an even keel. Jack arranged for him to write three articles once the website and brochures were ready to be shown off. After that, the meeting was brought to a halt.
