‘No idea!’
‘She’s probablyhopingyou’ll threaten her or something. I bet she’s trying to orchestrate that somehow through me. Bitch.’
Robby nodded slowly. ‘It probablyisthat. It was how she operated last time, looking for a reaction all the time and then twisting things to get money. She did that to the other guys.’
‘We’re doing nothing but sitting tight.’ Nina stated resolutely.
‘No, no. I’m going to go to the police and see what they advise.’
‘Pah! Fat chance of that doing anything. You can murder someone these days and get away with it. No, we’re doing nothing.’ Nina was adamant. ‘She is not ruining anything for me in Lovely Bay. We sit tight and wait and see.’
43
It was a few days or so later, Nina was in one of the upstairs bedrooms of The Summer Hotel doing a few checks for Jill when, as she passed the window on the first floor landing, someone outside in the street caught her eye. She stopped, positioned herself so she could see but not be seen, and narrowed her eyes as she watched Lindsay peering at the For Sale sign. She looked down as Lindsay took her phone out of her pocket, pointed it up at the sign, and obviously scanned the QR code.
Nina shook her head and heard a strange, aggressive sigh come out of the back of her throat. She continued to watch as Lindsay tapped on her screen, looked up at the hotel again, took a few steps to her right, gazed up at the side of the building, and back down at her phone.
Nina shuddered as she watched Lindsay, wearing jeans a size too small and a cheap-looking electric green blazer with the sleeves rolled up, take a couple of pictures of the hotel. As far as Nina was concerned, there was no way it was a coincidence that Lindsay was looking at The Summer Hotel. From what Nina had ascertained from the internet and Nancy, Lindsay was not standing outside the hotel by accident. Nina had learned in hersleuthing that Lindsay obviously followed a strategy where she made herself known in someone’s life and tried to wheedle her way in from there. What she’d failed to realise since she’d been convicted was that her game was up in somewhere like Lovely Bay.
It was now clear to Nina that Lindsay was somehow following her movements. It didn’t make her feel good at all. The woman was creepy, evil, and a criminal to boot. Nina’s heart raced as she watched Lindsay from a distance. The eerie feeling that Lindsay was tracking her every move sent chills down her spine. Nina had never experienced anything like it before. It felt so very personal and invasive.
Nina slipped her phone out of her pocket, swiped up, and tapped on her messages. She slowly read through one by one the text exchanges she’d had with Lindsay since Lindsay had asked her for a quote. Lindsay had sentloadsof messages with various excuses to get in touch. Nina had shut every one of them down, but it hadn’t seemed to put Lindsay off in the slightest. In fact, if anything, it was almost as if Nina’s short-to-the-point replies fuelled her more. Nina shook her head. Perhaps that’s what Lindsay liked: sending messages to people to try to get them to react. Maybe it was the thrill of the chase she got off on. Perhaps Lindsay had a plan that somehow involved Robby. Who knew how the woman’s mind worked? Nina rolled her eyes to herself. She was having none of it.
Lindsay was creepy and obviously highly unhappy with her own lot in life. Nina didn’t intend to let Lindsay say or do anything that was going to jeopardise Nina’s well-being inanyway. Nina was in a great place; happy, settled, in a fabulous relationship, and secure. Clearly, Lindsay was none of the above.
Nina watched Lindsay walk past the drive and front of the hotel, try the gate to the side, push it open, and step into the side garden. Not really sure what she was doing or if itwas the right thing to do or not, Nina decided to confront the situation head-on. She marched down the stairs like a woman possessed, stomped through the living quarters, slammed out the tradesmen’s entrance, and along the side path, her resolve firming with each step. Her heart pounded, and she could feel her breath quickening.
‘Sorry, hello! What are you doing? You can’t just walk onto private property!’
Lindsay turned, her expression unreadable at first as she took Nina in. Nina couldn’t quite ascertain whether Lindsay was shocked at the forthright tone or spurred on by it. Whatever it was, Lindsay was unperturbed. ‘Nina.’ Lindsay beamed with a nod as if standing by the gate on the side path to The Summer Hotel was the most natural occurrence in the world.
‘Why are you here?Whatdo you want?’ Nina asked as she scanned Lindsay’s face.
‘I was just over this side of Lovely and thought I’d come and have a look, seeing as it’s up for sale,’ Lindsay said, her tone nonchalant. The look in Lindsay’s eyes was a mix of defiance and something Nina couldn’t quite place. It was as if her words were saying one thing, but her face and body language were very much telling a different story altogether. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Evil personified by a regular-looking woman who apart from her overly bright clothing was nondescript and bland in every way.
‘You were just over this side of Lovely, were you?’ Nina repeated.
Lindsay pushed one of the sleeves of her cheap green blazer up further. ‘I was.’ She looked up at the building. ‘Such a nice spot by the river here. It must be great to live somewhere near the water. I’ve always wondered what it might be like. You started off here when you first arrived in Lovely Bay, didn’t you?’
‘I did.’
Nina wasn’t sure how to continue. It was clear Lindsay was enjoying herself. It was as if Lindsaywantedto make Nina feel awkward. As if Lindsay relished it somehow. She knew that Lindsay’s presence was more than happenstance. Lindsay thought she was leading the way, in charge, oh-so-clever; it was written all over her face, but Nina was one step ahead. Keep your enemies close. Then start on winning the game. She changed tack in an instant. ‘Yes, well, that’s what peoplethinkanyway.’ She made a funny little conspiratory-type face.
Lindsay was surprised and thrown. She coughed. ‘Sorry. What?’
Nina studied Lindsay quickly and pretended as if there was something Lindsay didn’t know. She flicked her hand. ‘Ahh, well, the story goes that I was house-sitting, yes, but, well, people believe what they want to believe sometimes, right? You’d know that.’
Lindsay’s eyes narrowed and she shuffled her feet a little bit. ‘Like what?’
Nina completely made stuff up on the spot. She surprised herself as she heard words come tumbling out of her mouth. ‘Put it this way, I had amotiveto be in Lovely Bay and it all worked outjustas I’d planned. Of course, don’t tell anyone that.’ She flicked her hand again. ‘It’s averygood place to hide…’
Lindsay tried and failed to hide the shock written all over her face. ‘What sort of motive are we talking?’
Nina did a weird witch-like cackle. She felt as if she was playing a game of chess swiftly taking over the board as she went. ‘Ahh, now that would be telling, wouldn’t it?’
Lindsay was quick. ‘Would it?’
‘Yep.’
