Pitch Black: A Romantic Thriller (Blackwood Security Book 1)

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Book: Read Pitch Black: A Romantic Thriller (Blackwood Security Book 1) for Free Online
Authors: Elise Noble
four hours doing nothing. I normally spent every waking minute on the job. I never had time to just be.
    My mind churned. I should be working towards catching my husband’s killer. There wasn’t much I could do without tipping him off, but I had the files I could be reviewing. Even if I wasn’t doing that, I should at the very least be finding myself a job and somewhere to live. The cash I had with me wouldn’t last long, and I didn’t know when I’d be ready to go back and face the remnants of my life.
    I knew that was what I should be doing, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it. I picked up the paper and began to read again instead. The lives of Hollywood Z-listers had never been so fascinating.
    Ten minutes later, the barmaid interrupted me.
    “Can I get you anything else?”
    “No thanks, I was planning to leave soon.” Just as soon as I could drag myself away from the nice warm fire and an article about the dangers of false eyelashes.
    “Visiting someone, are you?”
    “Er, no.”
    “It’s just I haven’t seen you around here before. I thought you must be stopping in to see someone.”
    I’d only been in the countryside from time to time on assignment, and I’d forgotten how nosey its inhabitants could be. In London, everyone studiously ignored everybody else, and if you did accidentally make eye contact, people automatically assumed you’d escaped from the nearest secure hospital and gave you a wide berth.
    “I’m only passing through.”
    “Lower Foxford’s a funny place to pass through. It’s not really on the way to anywhere,” she said, eyeing me a bit suspiciously.
    “Perhaps passing through is the wrong term. I didn’t exactly plan where I was going, and this was where I ended up.”
    “Argument with the boyfriend was it?”
    Well thanks, that’ll do. “Yeah, it was.”
    She laid a hand on my shoulder. “Oh, you poor love. Are you going to go home, or do you need somewhere to stay for the night?”
    “I could do with a place to sleep if you know of any hotels around here?”
    She chuckled. “This village is far too small for a hotel. The nearest one’s in town, but that’s a fifteen minute drive or half an hour on the bus. We’ve got a bed and breakfast, though.”
    I’d been so zoned out on the journey that I didn’t even know which town she was talking about. “A bed and breakfast will do fine.”
    “In that case, I’ll get you the number. It’s ever so nice, really homely. And Carol, who runs it, will cook you dinner if you like.”
    I hadn’t got around to buying a phone yet. I needed to pick up a cheap, pay-as-you-go handset, but it had slipped my mind before I left London. It wasn’t like I had anyone I was planning to phone, but it would be handy for situations like this.
    “Could you give me directions instead? I forgot to pick up my phone when I left.”
    “Of course, it’s not far.”

Chapter 6
    ARMED WITH A map the barmaid had hastily scribbled on the back of her order pad, I found Carol’s bed and breakfast within fifteen minutes. She lived in a chocolate box cottage on a quiet lane, white with wooden beams and a thatched roof. As I walked up the front path, I marvelled that even in the winter the garden still managed to look beautiful, with a manicured lawn and small statues hidden amongst the bare branches.
    I’d just lifted my hand up to knock when the door swung open and a tiny lady greeted me.
    “I’m Carol. Elsa from The Coach and Horses said you’d be stopping by. I’ve opened up a room for you, and the electric blanket’s already on.” 
    Why wasn’t I surprised she knew I was coming? “That’s very sweet of you. I’m Ashlyn. Or just Ash. I wasn’t sure you’d have a room at such short notice.”
    “Oh I’m rarely fully booked. There’s never much demand to stay in Lower Foxford. Most people who come here are visiting family or friends, so they already have somewhere to stay. I just run this place as a hobby. I get lonely

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