The Evil Twin
Page 14
Then Jean made a new, concerted effort. The water thrashed as her endeavours grew violent. A hand surfaced and gripped Susan’s face, but she twisted away from it and held on. Just hold on, she said to herself. The water stilled again. A few small ripples clicked against the filter box, but it was over.
Jean was limp beneath her and she let go. Her body rose to the surface and bobbed in front of Susan. She looked past it to the sun room, where she the tree lights were winking and blinking colourfully.
She took a deep, noisy breath and coughed. And then became aware of Tom, who was standing on the edge of the pool with Jean’s iPad in his hand. He must have come out some time after she’d slipped beneath the surface.
She wiped a hand over her eyes and stared up at him, blinking impassively. He smiled, the sun an aura behind him.
“Well done, Mum,” he said.
[] [] []
Also from Mercurial Avenue
Obsidian
James has a problem. He’s gay, but he doesn’t know it. He likes to hark back to his time with Tina in New York, but all his thoughts are about men. The only problem is, this never seems to occur to him.
James has left New York in search of isolation. He’s rented a farmhouse miles from anywhere, one so remote he has no TV or Internet connection. The only people around are the farmer and his son, Ben, who takes a sudden interest in James.
Ben is very obviously gay, and in James he seems to have found the perfect partner. The only problem is, James has other ideas. He isn’t going to let Ben close, not unless Ben pushes things, and sometimes you can push just a little too hard.
Fracture
At 33, Colin is still a virgin. He’s never questioned his sexuality, but when Alek arrives on Colin’s doorstep, he’s unexpectedly heartstruck by the young man’s beauty.
Colin has done a crazy thing. He’s burned down his house and built a duplex, a house divided into two apartments. His reason for doing this is simple. He wants to spy on his tenant, the young girl he imagines renting the place to, but the arrival of Alek puts an unexpected twist on this plan.
Is Colin gay? As he watches Alek through the two-way mirrors he’s installed in the bedroom and bathroom, he begins to wonder. In fact, he thinks he might just be falling in love with Alek Antonov, but with this tangled love comes a spiral toward madness, toward murder.
[] [] []