It hadn’t been offered a repeat visit.
She crouched down next to Adam as he lifted a hatch built into the wire mesh section of the hutch and took the bowl from her before placing it in the far corner away from them.
He added the second bowl, into which he had tipped a mixture of seeds and grain.
Kay rested on her haunches, and waited.
‘I think they’re still getting used to the new surroundings,’ said Adam. ‘They’re quite friendly, once they get used to you. ‘
Kay opened her mouth to ask him who “they” were, but fell silent when a nose appeared from the enclosed section of the hutch and sniffed the air.
A sandy coloured guinea pig then bustled from the gloom and made its way across the newspaper towards the water bowl, quickly followed by a black and white smaller guinea pig that hovered around its companion before sniffing at the food.
‘What are they called?’
‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ said Adam and walked over to the refrigerator before pulling out a half full bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.
Kay snorted, then stood up as Adam wandered back to her and handed her a wineglass. ‘How come they’re here?’
Adam used his wineglass to point at the bigger of the two cavies, the sandy coloured one. ‘Clyde’s got a skin infection, and it can be contagious so the family didn’t want their other guinea pigs to catch it. They’ve got eight in total. Bonnie’s always shared a hutch with him, so we’re keeping her in for observation for a few days, just in case. Clyde’s got some ointment that’ll need applying twice a day, but I figured as they fit the remit of “cute and fluffy”, you wouldn’t mind looking after them while I’m away? The clinic’s packed – no room at the inn for them, I’m afraid.’
‘That’s fine – it’ll be nice to have some company while you’re gone. At least they won’t steal the television remote when I’m not looking.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘I have no doubt that, by the time I’m out that front door, you’ll have them both on the sofa with you every night. Don’t spoil them, all right? They’re on a special diet.’
She stuck her tongue out at him then ducked out of the way as he tried to grab her arm, laughing. ‘I’m going to get changed. I’ll be back down in a minute.’
‘I was going to do something simple like pasta tonight – suit you?’
‘Fantastic, thanks.’
She put down her wineglass before picking up her handbag and making her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the master bedroom at the back of the house.
Below, she could hear the deep tones of Adam’s voice as he tried to coax the guinea pigs to eat some food, and smiled as she changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and sorted out a load of laundry.
He was right – she’d enjoy looking after the furry creatures while he was away.
He’d been looking forward to the conference in Aberdeen since booking his ticket nearly five months ago; the event would give him the chance to mingle with his peers, something he rarely had the chance to do outside of his usual circle of contacts and she knew he was keen to soak up the knowledge he’d be surrounded by. The fact that the event included a weekend as well meant there would be plenty of opportunities to network over informal meetings rather than amongst the throng of the scheduled seminars.
Gathering up the pile of dark clothing she’d sorted, she went back down to the kitchen and loaded the washing machine before picking up her wineglass once more, the aroma of garlic and onion heating in a pan filling the air.
While Adam busied himself preparing their dinner, she crouched down to the hutch once more and wiggled her finger through the mesh.
The smaller of the two guinea pigs, Bonnie, pattered across the newspaper and touched her nose to Kay’s finger, before turning back to the food.
‘They’re cute.’
‘I knew you’d like them.’ Adam took a sip of pasta sauce from a wooden spoon, then added more salt and began to stir once more. ‘If you give them a handful of that special food before you go to work in the mornings, they’ll be fine all day as long as they’ve got plenty of water. They can have any vegetable scraps as well. I grabbed a stack of newspapers from the clinic, so you shouldn’t run out.’ He pointed at the pile of papers he’d left on the worktop nearest the back door, then winked. ‘Just remember we have to give them back.’
Kay laughed. ‘I know. Don’t worry – I’ve got my hands full at work at the moment. I don’t have time for a full-time pet.’
Adam raised an eyebrow, and she proceeded to tell him what she could about her late-night excursion to the M20 and her early start that morning.
‘And no-one knows who she is?’
Kay shook her head as she watched him serve their dinner. ‘No. I’ll find out though. I’ll find out why he did this to her.’
‘You usually do.’
Chapter Six
Due to the residents’ vehicles already lining the narrow street of terraced houses, Kay ended up parking the pool car a quarter of a mile away from where the incident van had been set up the next morning.
She and Carys elected to take a roundabout route back to where teams of uniformed officers were going from house to house, trying to locate the exact address for the injured driver. They were already hearing feedback over the radio that
