Chapter Eleven
1622 Words
Late in the evening, Elizabeth woke with a dry throat. Turning on her phone, she waited as her messages came through.
There were many texts from her friends and even one from Dominic asking her to call him.
Elizabeth replied to the most urgent messages. She was in the middle of texting a friend when her doorbell rang.
Feeling it may be a delivery, she got out of bed, shuffled into a worn bathrobe, and went to answer the door.
“Hi sis, long time no see,” Ross said, as he pushed past her. “It’s bloody freezing outside.”
She followed him through the corridor into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Ross entered the kitchen and took a seat at the table as she rummaged through the fridge for the bread, butter, and strawberry jam.
“Would you like a coffee or tea?”
“Coffee,” he nodded.
He shrugged off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair.
“You like it black and sweet, don’t you?” she asked, remembering the last time she made him a hot drink.
“Yes, please,” he answered.
In the middle of pouring the water for the coffees, she turned and looked at him and saw that he was staring at her.
“So, what brings you here?” she asked. “I never see you two days in a row.”
Both of their jobs were demanding, and it prevented her from meeting with him often since she returned to London.
He shrugged, then asked about their parents and whether she had spoken to them and what she spoke about. When she laid a steaming cup of coffee before him, he nodded his thanks.
Elizabeth took the seat across from him and bit into her toast. She had taken three bites when he set his cup on the table and surveyed her.
“I need your help, sis.”
Those words made her pause. Her stomach growled, and she began eating again.
“Okay, what can I do to help you?”
He gave her a calm stare. She shuffled on the chair.
“Would you do a job for me no questions asked?”
Confused, Elizabeth frowned. “Does this have something to do with your work?” she asked.
“It does,” he replied. “I think I’ve c****d up this investigation I’m doing, and someone got hurt because of me.”
Her brother was a perfectionist. To see him sitting across from her with a worried look on his oak-coloured skin made her worry for him.
“Does this have anything to do with George?”
He met her eyes and nodded.
“I figured out as much,” she said.
Elizabeth finished the first slice of toast and started on the second.
“Don’t sound so judgemental, it doesn’t suit you, sis.”
She opened her mouth to list all the reasons she disliked George. Her most recent encounter was still fresh in her mind, but she held her tongue. She did not want to be the one who caused a rift between the friends.
“I’m not judgemental. I’m just wary of him, that’s all.”
Ross shrugged. “I don’t want to get into the reasons you do or do not like George. All I want to learn is if you will help me?” His eyes were pleading. “My job is on the line,” he added for effect as if she had forgotten that part.
She continued to eat her toast. When she had swallowed the last bite, she took a sip of her coffee. “Do you need to ask if I will help you? You’re my brother I don’t want to see you get into trouble.”
His face brightened at her words. “I felt you would understand, sis.”
Scrunching up her face, she gave him a small smile. “Well, I do aim to please,” she said, wiggling her brows.
“Whatever,” he said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. “On a more serious note, I want you to help take care of George for me.” He held up his hand. “And before you ask, if I thought it was dangerous, I wouldn’t ask you for help.”
Elizabeth closed her mouth and relaxed back on the chair and waited for her brother to continue.
“I can’t tell you the details but what happened to George was my fault and right now my DCI is looking for someone to take responsibility for it.”
“Is it that serious?” she asked redundantly, knowing he would not be begging her if it was not.
Elizabeth appreciated that working for the police, he must handle some serious cases. He had never discussed the ins and outs before. Hearing him talk about it made her wonder what it must be like for him to deal with danger all the time. No wonder he was always so grumpy these days, she thought.
A frown clouded Ross’s face. “Of course, it’s that serious. Do you expect I joined the MET for a joke?”
“I guess not,” she admitted, after a pause.
Folding her arms, she studied his face. “What do you want me to do about George then?” she asked.
“The doctor said that if the knife had gone in an inch to the left or right, he would have been a goner. They will let him out after further observations, but he is going to need someone to take care of him. He doesn’t want his parents to find out, so the next best option is to get someone who can nurse him back to health.”
Two things were going through her mind when her brother finished talking.
One of which was that she would be in proximity to him could she resist the urge to bash him over the head with something. And two was George, the one who suggested she take care of him.
“Did George tell you I am going to look after his sister?” She paused. “I have signed a temporary contract with his family?”
Ross gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “He already told me that. You haven’t started your job with the family yet, so it will be easier for you to ask them to find someone else.” He gave her a confident stare.
“It’s not professional for me to do that,” she argued.
“Sis, can’t you sympathize, I need you right now, and I am asking for your help.”
“I am going to help you. All am saying is… I never do business like this.”
He sat looking at her, his face unreadable. “Compromise your principles for once, just help your brother.”
Annoyed, Ross felt she would not help him. She stood to her feet and began clearing the dirty things from the table.
“And who is going to pay me for my time? You realize the rent doesn’t pay itself,” she said, to get him to stop pressuring her.
Her brother grinned at her. “George will pay you, of course. Don’t you know he’s minted?”
“Is he?”
“Yes, he is,”
She twisted her body to look at him. “It’s such a shame all that money can’t buy him manners.”
Ross shook his head. “I refuse to listen to you slagging him off like you’re a child,” he said, standing to his feet. “Do you have work tonight?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Good,” he said with a pleased smile on his face. “Get dressed. We will meet George and complete how this arrangement will work. If you intend to do both.”
Elizabeth inclined her head towards the living room. “Relax, I won’t be long,” she promised.
Turning back to the sink to finish her task, she heard him go to the living room and put the telly on.
Why did she agree to help so readily, she wondered? Surely, she could have put up more of a fuss, she reflected.
As she got dressed, in the forefront of her mind was the belief that maybe this was the universe’s way of showing her she needed to be closer to George. If she helped him, she would get a better understanding of what he was like. Maybe then she could finally get rid of any goodwill she had towards him.
Pleased she had come to some clarity in her mind, she hurried to get her brother and found him asleep on her sofa.
“I’m ready,” she said, shaking him awake.
Once he cleared the sleep from his eyes with his fingers, he nodded. “I will drive. You can leave your car here; I will drop you back when we’re done.”
“Okay,” she replied. As she trailed behind him out the door, she hoped George was in a better mood than before, but she immediately told herself it did not matter what mood he was in, she was only going to help because of Ross, and the fee.
- Writer
