“It wouldn’t surprise me if Jameson hasn’t told him. They seemed to have got quite friendly.”
“I think I’ve had enough of crime to last me a lifetime.”
“Oh Eve, I wish that were true, I really do.”
Eve looked at him, smiled and nuzzled her head into the crook of his arm. She promptly fell asleep.
* * *
“There they are,” Annie said to her husband, Pete.
She started waving and Eve, seeing her familiar and friendly face, waved back, her eyes filling up with tears. At that moment, Eve realized how lucky she was to be returning home after all that had happened in Perth. It could have ended so differently.
David noticed that Eve looked a little tearful and squeezed her arm.
“Come on, darling. Everything’s alright now. We’re home.”
Eve smiled at him and fought back the tears, not wanting her friends, Annie and Pete Davies to see her vulnerable side.
They picked up their luggage and went out into ‘Arrivals’ to greet Annie and Pete who had come to the airport to give them a lift home.
“Oh my goodness,” Annie said as she hugged Eve. “What have you done to your arm?”
“Oh, it’s a long story, but I’ll tell you in the car. I’m just so pleased to be home.”
“By the way,” Pete said after all the greetings were finished. “We saw your interviews concerning Charles Sheffield on television. It must have been frightening for you, Eve.”
“Yes, it was pretty horrendous. I had nightmares for days afterwards.”
“You did come over well in the interview, Eve,” Annie said. "I know you’ve always hoped to get an interview on T.V. about one of the crimes you’ve helped solve. At least you’ve managed to get one as the victim.”
“Yes, a bit ironic really. I am pleased you enjoyed my interview though,” Eve replied, beaming.
She was pleased that they had seen her on television and wondered who else had watched the interview. She hoped that Betty had and more importantly, that she was green with envy.
Once in the car, Eve started telling them about how she got her broken arm, recounting the whole story about her house from the beginning to the end, following it up with a more detailed account of her encounters with Joanna and her kidnapping by Charles Sheffield. Eve was in her element and although David knew that she was exaggerating a few of the details, he did nothing to stop her. It had been quite a holiday and Eve had been through the wars, so he was happy to let her have her moment of glory. However, he wasn’t surprised when she deliberately missed out the part where she was pretty sure that Marion was the culprit, not Vera. Eve hated to be wrong about anything.
“Oh Eve,” Annie said at the end, “How can you bear to keep the house and go back to Perth again? I don’t think I could. There would be too many awful memories.”
“Vera will get a long sentence and Sarah will as well, I expect. Joanna has been captured and Charles has been arrested. I’ve got nothing to be afraid of now. I’m not being chased out of my own house. Perth’s an amazing city as well. I can’t wait to go back.”
Pete, who was driving, took a quick glance at David in the passenger seat. He was shaking his head.
One minute she’s happy to be home, thought David. The next she can’t wait to get back to Perth. That woman is so frustrating, but I love her despite all this.
A hand reached over from the back seat and stroked David’s neck. No, it didn’t matter how difficult she was, Eve was the woman he wanted to be with. He turned round and smiled at her and she smiled back. His stomach did a little somersault. Despite all the trauma they had been through on this holiday, and despite meeting easy-going Sophie again, the magic was far from gone. He couldn’t wait to marry Eve on a sun kissed beach the following summer and then have a completely stress-free honeymoon in Africa. It was going to be bliss.
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