Page 17 - Julie Thorley Nine Lives book

The Big Sheep
She says, ‘I’ve lost my sheep.’ She leaves the sentence hanging right there, like a lantern swinging on the porch on Halloween. I need to stall, so I get out my cigarette case and take out a smoke. I offer her one, but she shows me the at of her hand.
Of course, she doesn’t smoke, I think. Herbal tea and hand knitting don’t go with a tobacco habit. She must have some vices, though. I look again at that sweater and wonder for a moment what it’s hiding.
Then I realise she is speaking again: ‘Did you hear me, Mr Payne? I’ve lost my sheep.’
That snaps me back. ‘Yeah, I heard you,’ I say, ‘but I’m not sure how I can help. I’m more used to chasing villains with two legs than furry critters with four.’
She goes on. ‘I don’t know what to tell you, Mr Payne. One day they were there, then the next they’d gone. I checked my security and it was all tight. There’s been no strangers down my way for a while now.’ She twirls her long blonde hair between sensitive ngers and I get the impression I’m being taken for a patsy.
I need to hit pause, so I draw deeply on my cigarette and blow smoke rings over her head. She doesn’t seem to notice. Either that or she’s playing it real cool.
I make a decision. ‘You don’t need a detective, lady. You need a farmer.’
The green eyes are. ‘Seems they were wrong about you,’ she says. ‘I’d heard you could nd anyone and anything.’
I can’t decide if she’s angry or upset. Either way, I know there and then that I don’t need to hassle.
I re right back at her: ‘Listen, sweetheart, I’m the best PI you’ll ever meet, but let’s get one thing straight. I choose who I work with and not the other way round. That’s why I’m good at my job. I know when to walk away – and I’m walking away now.’
‘That’s a shame, Mr Payne. I could pay you handsomely, one way or another.’ She smiles at me and I feel something
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