Doctor Who_ Rip Tide - Louise Cooper [25]
She said, 'There is,' Then, before she had the sense to stop herself, added, 'And it's got something to do with Ruth!'
The van tyres squealed as Steve trod hard on the footbrake, and they jolted to a stop in the middle of the road.
'What,' he demanded in a dangerous voice, 'is that supposed to mean?'
Nina realised that she had made a major tactical mistake, but it was too late to retract. Setting her jaw she said, 'You've only started getting like this since you met her!'
'Like what?' The danger in his voice was increasing.
'Tired all the time. Pale. Thin. Ill.' Thinking that she might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb now, Nina took a deep breath. 'I think you should stop seeing her!'
'Right.' Steve glared furiously at her. 'Out.'
'What?'
'I said, out. Right here and now. I'm not driving another millimetre with you in my van. You can walk home, or wherever else you're going. In fact if I were you I'd go straight to Doc Powell's surgery and tell her
you're ill. Mentally.'
She stared at him in dismay, all her bravado crumbling. 'Steve, I —'
'I'm not listening! Not until you stop acting like a pathetic, spoiled brat!'
'I'm not!' Nina was on the verge of tears.
'Oh, sure you're not! Ruth's put your nose out of joint, hasn't she? She's older than you, and she's better looking than you, and you don't like it. You're just plain jealous, Nina. Well, you can go away and be jealous somewhere else. You're just my kid sister, and you don't run my life!'
He leaned across her and opened the passenger door. Nina started to protest again, but a car had come up behind them and hooted. There was nothing she could do other than get out of the van.
'Steve —'
He slammed the van door, which didn't shut properly (it never did) and drove off. The waiting car went past; its driver, a stranger, grinned knowingly at Nina and she gave him two fingers in response. She was crying now, but the rain had started again and the tears didn't show.
'Bastard,' she said. 'Bastard!' But she didn't mean it. Steve wasn't himself; he had changed. Something had changed him. Ruth had changed him. And Nina was beginning to feel very frightened.
She made her decision at that moment. But she would wait until after dark before she did anything about it.
By dusk the rain squalls had moved on, but the wind had risen to a near gale. The sea was roaring again, almost howling, and the noise seemed to match Nina's turbulent state of mind as she lay on her bed trying to force herself to relax.
A clattering from the kitchen below told her that her mother was washing up. That was supposed to be Nina's job, and doubtless there would be words about it later. But right now Nina couldn't think about anything except her plan, and the frustration of waiting for darkness to fall. It came so slowly in June; it would be ten o'clock, she surmised, before she dared make any move. Come on, come on! At least the sky was still cloudy, so there would be no moon. Could she go now? She flicked her bedside lamp off and looked at the rectangle of her window. The street lamps had come on. Ten minutes to walk to the holiday cottage, or fifteen if she took her time. She couldn't wait any longer.
Her father saw her as she passed the open sitting-room door on her way through the hall, and frowned.
'Where are you going?'
'Out.' It was her standard response, and the expected question followed it.
'Where?'
'Meeting some mates.
'Oh, I see. So what happened to the washing up you were supposed to be doing?'
'Yeah, well ... ' Nina shrugged and started quickly for the front door.
'Now, look, young lady, this is getting beyond a joke
But the door's slam was his only answer.
Though she tried to make herself dawdle, Nina took less than her estimated ten minutes to reach the cottage where the jelly-baby man was staying. There was still an