The night is cold and full of...

With Evelyn watching the excavation from a stool in the kitchen, Spencer sent Amy off to get started on her homework and started readying himself for what was left of the evening. He became aware that he didn’t have his cell phone on him and hadn’t checked for it the last couple of hours. Trying to retrace his steps he found it lying on the floor in his bedroom, half under the edge of the bed. Bending to retrieve it, Spencer felt a gut-wrenching drop of panic when he saw half a dozen missed calls from Danielle. His mind immediately going to what he’d done with the policewoman behind her back.

Closing the door to his room to give himself some much-needed added privacy, Spencer felt his heart racing as he pressed the button to recall Danielle.

She answered almost instantly. “Spencer you rotten bastard!” was the first thing she said.

Danielle knew what he’d done. The guilt was suddenly sickening. “Danielle. I’m so sorry. I never meant…”

She cut him off, “the whole town is buzzing and I had to hear it from Massie Monaghan.”

How did Massie know about him and Evelyn? John had left before anything had happened.

“I… err… umm…”

“For crying out loud, Spencer! The dead body on your farm!” Danielle broke in on Spencer’s stuttering.

“Oh! Right, the skeleton. Shoot Dani, I should have told you. It’s just been so chaotic here,” Spencer recovered, getting his feet back under him. The sense of relief at what Danielle had been talking about near overwhelming.

“So, it is true! Well, you have to tell me everything now,” Danielle spoke. Her voice was triumphant at having got the truth she was seeking out of Spencer at last.

With a much safer topic to talk about Spencer gave Danielle the low down on the discovery made under the old barn. Danielle listening in rapt silence to what Spencer had to tell her until curiosity got the best of her.

“Can I come over and see it?” she asked him.

That would make Spencer exceedingly uncomfortable having Danielle there with Evelyn Malone in his kitchen. “Perhaps not Dani. The Sheriff’s department is still here.” It wasn’t a lie. “How about I come and see you tomorrow for lunch and tell you all about it them?”

Anytime seeing Spencer was a good time for Danielle.

“Actually, while we’re talking about seeing each other, I’ve been invited to one of Amy’s friend’s birthday on the weekend and wanted to see if you’d come with me. It’s at this great Vietnamese restaurant in town” Spencer asked Dani.

“Another weekend date! I’d love to. Should we get her some sort of present together?” Danielle’s heart skipped a little school girl beat at the thought of signing a present from Spencer and Danielle together.

“No need to worry about that. I’ll take care of it,” he told her assuredly.

“In that case did you want to have a sleepover together again?” Danielle suggested heavily, both of their minds going back to the last night they spent together.

“I’ll have to ask my Mom but it should be alright,” Spencer quipped.

“You’re such a goof, Spencer!” Dani laughed.

After finishing up talking to Danielle, Spencer went to his study to check his work emails and do some casual reading for the evening before calling it a somewhat early night. He checked on Everly one last time to make sure she had everything she could want and to once again reassure her to help herself to anything she might like. She gave him a very warm and tender smile at his generosity before wishing Spencer a goodnight. Spencer then wished Amy a goodnight before giving her a kiss and turning in.

Spencer wasn’t always the earliest riser in the mornings but had got better after he’d had to take on solo responsibility for Amy. Still, more often than not Amy would beat him to getting up. Spencer thought that was the case when he caught the smell of cooking breakfast in the air as he made his way from his bedroom to the kitchen. The aroma of hot cooking oil plus bacon and whatever else enticing him as he strode through the house. In honesty, he’d forgotten that Deputy Malone would be there and felt thankful for the robe he’d put on before leaving his room.

“Good morning Spencer,” Evelyn greeted him as he came into the kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind but I cooked breakfast for you both to say thank you for your hospitality and for me not having to stand outside in the cold all night. I stepped out there earlier and it is freezing!”

“This is the best Dad! Our own policeman to watch the house and cooked breakfast,” Amy said beaming. A happy smile on her face.

Accepting a plate. “Sheriff’s deputy and you didn’t have to. Thank you though. I hope you said thank you to Deputy Malone,” he said for Amy’s benefit as well as Evelyn’s.

“She did. You have a very polite and courteous daughter Spencer. You should be very proud,” Evelyn said as she got up to leave.

“I am,” Spencer agreed wholeheartedly. Then, “you’re not eating?”

“I helped myself earlier. I should be getting back out there. Forensics could be coming at any moment and I really should be where I’m supposed to be. We should be all out of your hair by lunchtime,” the deputy told Spencer as she zipped her thick jacket back on in preparation to go out into the near-freezing cold once again.

After Spencer and Amy had eaten their bacon and scrambled eggs together, Spencer went and jumped in the shower while Amy got dressed for school. The pair of them waving to Evelyn standing at attention by the excavation as they drove out to drop Amy at school. Knowing he would face a gaggle of questions about what had been uncovered at his farm yesterday, Spencer let Amy know that he would drop her and run today but would see her back at the school that afternoon for pick up. Barely pausing to let her out, Spencer waved goodbye to Amy and was gone before his presence had even been noted.

From there Spencer was at a loss at what he should do. He thought it best that he didn’t go back to his farmhouse until the sheriff’s team had a chance to go about their work and remove the long-dead moonshiner. He wasn’t due to see Danielle until her lunch break and that was hours away. His natural movements seemed to take him to the Corner Coffee House anyway. Knowing it was futile to fight his probably coffee addiction, Spencer did as his body willed and ordered himself a coffee and a pastry to go with it. He got it to go as he didn’t want to be seen as some sad lowlife waiting half the day for his date to meet him. Out in his car, he thought he should probably call in on John Monaghan and let him know what happened, well most of what had happened after he left.

Instead, Spencer found himself calling the number he’d got from Jasmine Hong when she’d been serving at McClaren’s Tavern on the weekend. After what seemed like far too many rings a voice picked up.

“Hello. Who is it?” he recognised Jasmine’s voice immediately without the hubbub and noise of a crowded bar.

“Hi, Jasmine. It’s Spencer giving you a call as I promised,” he told her lightly.

“Hey, one moment. I’ll call you back,” and then she hung up.

That wasn’t the reception he’d been expecting. His old friend had appeared excited to see him after so many years in the bar and had given him her number after all. Spencer waited patiently in his car for Jasmine to call him back while he finished his pastry and coffee before giving up waiting and starting to make his way toward Monaghan Construction’s yard.

He was most of the way there before he got a call back on his phone. Jasmine returning his call as she’d said.

“Hey, Spencer!” Jasmine sounded completely different and much happier to hear from him. Just as he’d been expecting after their interaction in the bar. “Sorry about that. Couldn’t talk just then. How are you? It’s so great to hear from you. I must admit, I’d been looking forward to your call.”

“I’m great. Wonderful in fact. Agh I just can’t believe it's you. I’d never expected to run into you in Avonwick in a million years.”

“Crazy right! What are you doing right now Spencer? Did you want to grab a coffee?” Jasmine asked him.

Continuing past the turn off for Monaghan Construction and not pulling in Spencer quickly thought better of meeting Jasmine at the Corner Coffee House. He’d only just been there and had arranged to meet Danielle there later in the day. “I’ve actually just grabbed a coffee,” he told her.

“Well, how about you to come over to my house then?” Jasmine offered.