Free The Moors: Some secrets are better left buried by Jody Medland Page A

told you, you’re reading too much into it,’ insisted Christian as he washed the grime away with small circular movements, taking great care of his vehicle.
    *
 
    Across the lawn, Amanda sat reading the morning papers with Walter, having plucked The Times from his grasp. Reading her colleagues’ work somehow made her feel close to Tony as she fondly envisaged what squabbles would have taken place in the office since her departure.
    After a quick scan of the headlines, she returned it to Walter. Her attention then drifted to the local papers, where more articles had been published regarding the Exmoor beast.
    I wonder… She thought, connecting the stories to the inexplicable sighting she had the previous evening, but the fantasy of having encountered the legendary being was distracted by the intensity with which Karen spoke to Christian in the car park. They were just about within earshot but Amanda had to read their body language for most of the exchange.
    ‘ I’m telling you, it’s her! ’ she believed Karen said, before Christian shrugged and Karen said something about ‘… a feeling ,’ to which Christian seemed to quip ‘ I didn’t think you had any feelings .’
    At that, Karen spun on her heels and stropped back into the house.
    ‘It was a joke!’ Christian added, audibly and somewhat cheekily, but it was too late. She was gone.
    His indifference to Karen’s mood swings was something Amanda found thoroughly amusing, but she didn’t give herself long to enjoy the moment, for she sensed an opportunity.
    ‘Cup of tea, Walt?’ she asked, as she pushed herself to her feet.
    ‘M-m?’
    ‘Cup of tea?’ she repeated.
    ‘Oh! No. Thank you,’ he dismissed; the perfect answer as all Amanda really wanted was to head back towards the house.
    She moved unnoticed past Christian, who was gradually restoring his vehicle’s shine. It was a top of the line Wagoneer and judging by the delicate way he touched the vehicle, it was incredibly dear to him. Amanda quietly opened the front door and entered the house. She followed the sound of movement and ducked into the drawing room as Karen led the children down the staircase to the toy cupboard. Inside were a host of communal toys such as baby dolls, skipping ropes, marbles, conkers, chalk, crayons, the chess board, various other wooden playing boards with sets of balls and a bright red fire engine. Karen pulled on a chord and a naked light bulb sparked to life.
    ‘Reuben,’ said Karen, summoning him forward and allowing him to enter the cupboard to select a toy. He opted for the fire engine and walked back out in excitement.
    ‘Gordon,’ she said, like a militant leader commanding her troops.
    ‘I wanna play chess with Georgina,’ he declared, which came as no surprise.
    ‘Not today. Pick something else,’ she instructed.
    ‘Chess. Yah. I definitely wanna play chess,’ he repeated.
    She lowered her body and spoke slowly, her inner venom working its way through the throbbing veins that appeared on her pale neck.
    ‘Choose-something-else!’ she snarled.
    ‘Yah,’ said Gordon, stepping into the room and looking around. Again, his head only seemed to shift between two key positions, but something about his manner suggested he was absorbing all of the information around him.
    ‘Yah,’ he considered. ‘Yah. Okay. I wanna play follows.’
    Knowing Karen would be occupied for a while, Amanda finally had the perfect opportunity to spend a little time alone with Christian – something that had seemed surprisingly difficult throughout her stay. Never did she feel more alive than when she was playing detective and the adrenalin overtook the emotions she felt regarding her potential pregnancy.
    By the time she walked back outside, the top half of Christian’s body had disappeared under his jeep and a set of tools had been placed next to his water bucket.
    That’s a mighty thorough clean! thought Amanda.
    ‘I just bumped into Karen,’ she said, winning his