Holden walked over to the door and left. JJ got up and locked it behind him and then lay back on the bed, aware that he hadn’t been entirely truthful, that he was beginning to feel something toward them, however hard it was to pin down.
He had a good feeling about Holden though, despite the initial reservations, the suspicion of a stranger who knew things about him. He’d withhold his judgment till he got the full story, but if it was true that Holden felt obliged to him, that in itself was rare, a person who felt obliged to anyone when his own spot was marked.
There was something else too, the way he’d thought about introducing him to the Bostridges as a friend of a friend. It seemed to tie in with the way Tom had spoken about him, leaving JJ wondering why he’d never heard of Holden before. But then he’d never needed to know who any of these people were before.
Just as, until then, the families of victims had been distant people, characters in stories whose lives and emotions he’d only imagined. And now he was almost in among them, perhaps only a day away from getting to know all of them, from being accepted as a friend. It was a strange prospect, but suddenly something he felt compelled toward, for the most questionable of reasons, because he’d seen that victim’s daughter from the stairs and she was beautiful.
12
After breakfast he sat in the lounge again with Lenny and Dee, looking through the papers, the same superficial reflections. He didn’t learn much more about them, other than the odd fact that Lenny owned aircraft hangars for a living.
They mentioned their boys just as much, a trait he found touching, the fact that even for one week in Vermont they clearly missed them. The prospect of bringing them along on the next trip rose again, JJ imagining how the boys would most likely become besotted with the Bostridge girl and all the emotional crises that would entail.
The first sign that Holden was coming was Kathryn bringing in a tray with a pot of coffee and a cup on it. She didn’t say anything, just set down the tray and left, and a minute or two later Holden came in, picked up the tray, brought it over to join them.
“Another fine day,” he said triumphantly, like he was talking about the stock market or the economy. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all, Ed,” Dee replied, just as enthusiastic. “How was the lake?” Lenny looked up to hear what Ed had to say.
“Beautiful, beautiful. Something special.” There was that look again, the deep-in-thought look JJ had seen the previous night, before he added, “You know, if you’re back here next year, feel free to take a few days in the cabin. You’re more than welcome.”
“That’s very kind,” said Lenny, and Dee looked in danger of throwing her arms around him, like all their efforts had paid off, a sense of inclusion. “We might just take you up on that offer.”
Ed smiled and nodded, a little embarrassed perhaps by the emotional pitch of their response. He turned to JJ then and said, “I’m sorry, we haven’t met but I guess you’re JJ. I’m Ed Holden.”
They shook hands, JJ saying, “Pleased to meet you, Ed. I take it it’s not your first time here?”
“No, in fact I’m not a guest. Old family friend. And you’re here between business trips I’m told.”
“That’s right,” said JJ. “Recharging the batteries.”
Ed nodded and turned to Dee who was still looking on, Lenny having gone back to the papers. “So what do you two have planned for today?”
“Highlight of the trip,” she said, rolling her eyes. “We’re making the drive up to Ben and Jerry’s!” It was the second time JJ had heard that; he remembered now that it was an ice-cream brand, guessing it was made somewhere nearby. As if to reinforce the fact, Dee asked, “Do you have Ben and Jerry’s in England, JJ?”
“Yes, we do,” he said, letting go that he’d already told them a couple of times that he lived in Switzerland.
Ed wagged his finger at her teasingly and said, “Just remember, a moment on the lips”—the three Americans finished the phrase together then, a summer camp chorus—“a lifetime on the hips!” That accomplished, Ed turned to JJ, asking, “And what about you, JJ, any plans for the day?”
“Just walking about the place, taking in the woods.”
“That’s what I’m planning for the morning. Maybe I could join you, if you don’t mind the company?”
“Not at all.” He noticed Lenny and Dee looking hoodwinked again, could imagine them trying to work out later why the English guy seemed to get taken so easily into the fold, consoling themselves perhaps with Ed’s offer of the cabin.