8. The Blind Date

Lydia checked her watch. It was nearly ten minutes past seven. She frowned. Shelly has said that her date – what was his name again? - would be there at seven o'clock on the dot. She looked around again. There were still a few people milling around, mostly couples or small groups, but the majority had already gone into the cinema.

She sighed. She was beginning to regret agreeing to go on this blind date. Shelly had been so insistent, though. It was strange. She hardly knew the woman. Yet as soon as Shelly had heard about Peter leaving her, she had taken it upon herself to set Lydia up with – who was it again? Her brother-in-law?

Lydia sighed heavily and gripped her handbag tightly with both hands. She wondered how Shelly had found out about Peter leaving. She guessed that Nathan must have mentioned it in conversation – Shelly was his boss at the garage, after all. She frowned as she tried to remember how many times she had actually met Shelly.

The first time, as far as Lydia could remember, was at the garage's Christmas party. Of course, some of Nathan's colleagues had made fun of the fact that he had brought his mother along, but all in all, they had seemed like decent people. Then there was the time a couple of months ago when she had taken Peter's car in to be checked over before selling it. That was when Shelly had first suggested setting up this date.

Lydia had resisted the idea at first. She hadn't felt that she was ready to start dating again. But she kept bumping into Shelly in town – it was almost as if Shelly was stalking her, the number of times they had just happened to meet.

Lydia shook her head and smiled wryly. Maybe I'm just being paranoid about it, she thought. After all, there was no reason for her to suspect Shelly of anything nefarious. The woman was just trying to be nice and introduce Lydia to this relative of hers.

In any case, she had finally relented and agreed to go on this blind date. Now here she was, waiting to meet this gentleman. She sighed again, and looked down at her outfit. She had picked this dress out especially. She hadn't worn it for ages, and to be honest, she was a little surprised that it still fitted her.

“Ah, you must be Lydia?” a male voice inquired.

Lydia jumped, and looked up. A tallish man, with pale skin, piercing green eyes, and grey hair that was brushed back as if to accentuate his high forehead, stood before her, dressed in a smart dark blue suit.

“Err... yes,” she replied hesitantly, her eyes quickly scanning the immediate vicinity. Where did you come from? she wondered.

The man proffered his hand., and introduced himself. “I'm Frank, Frank Wilson.”

Lydia smiled, and shook Frank's hand. “Lydia Walker,” she replied. “Nice to meet you, Frank.”

Frank regarded Lydia with a critical eye. She fidgeted with embarrassment under his gaze.

“I must say, you're even more beautiful than Shelly suggested,” he concluded with a smile.

Lydia laughed with embarrassment. It was such a cheesy line, and almost certainly not true, but she still appreciated being flattered like that.

“Anyway, I'm sorry I'm a little late,” Frank sighed apologetically. “I had a meeting with the Super that went on a bit longer that expected.”

“The Super?” Lydia asked, suddenly curious to know more about the gentleman that stood before her.

“Yes, Superintendent Pike,” Frank replied with a frown, seemingly surprised that Lydia didn't know who the Super was. There was a brief awkward silence, before realisation dawned.

“Oh, Shelly didn't tell you, did she?” Frank exclaimed. “Sorry, I assumed she had. I'm the DI – the Detective Inspector – at the station in town. The one on Cook Street.”

“Oh, I see,” Lydia replied. “No, Shelly didn't really tell me that much about you, I'm afraid.”

Frank smiled and nodded. “Well, I'm sure I can tell you all about myself over dinner tonight,” he said. “I hope you don't mind, but I've booked a table at the Eastern Promise.”

“The Eastern Promise?” Lydia echoed. “That's the new restaurant on the High Street, isn't it?”

“That's the one,” Frank nodded. “I hope you don't think I'm being too forward. You know, booking a table before I'd even met you,” he added, nervously fidgeting.

“No, not at all,” Lydia laughed, surprised at Frank's apparent timidity. “I've heard it's quite nice there. Isn't it a bit expensive, though?”

Frank laughed. “Yes, I suppose it is,” he conceded. “But I'm sure a DI's salary can stretch to a nice meal with a beautiful lady.”

Frank offered Lydia his arm, which she took graciously. Arms linked, they walked towards the entrance to the cinema.

“So tell me, what was your meeting about?” Lydia enquired. “Nothing major, I hope.”

“Oh, no, nothing major,” Frank replied. “One of my officers is in hospital, and we were discussing whether to bring somebody in as cover.”

Lydia frowned. She thought she could detect a hint of sadness in his voice. She was about to inquire further, when Frank abruptly stopped. They had arrived at the entrance to the cinema. Frank reached out and pulled open one of the doors, before bowing chivalrously.

“After you, my lady,” he announced, unlinking their arms and gesturing for Lydia to enter the cinema first.

“Why, thank you, my good sir,” Lydia replied, stepping across the threshold as daintily as she could manage.

Frank followed Lydia into the cinema, and they linked arms once more. “In the end, we decided there wasn't any need,” he continued with a sigh. “There aren't enough major crimes in Wildbridge these days.”

“You sound almost disappointed,” Lydia laughed.

Frank smiled. “Well, sometimes it does get a little boring,” he replied, “and you end up wanting there to be a murder or something, just so that you can get out and investigate.”

Lydia gasped in horror. Frank chuckled and shook his head. “Don't worry,” he told her, “I am joking. I'm as relieved as anybody that there aren't bodies piling up on street corners here.”

Lydia smiled benevolently at Frank. “So which film are you taking me to see?” she enquired politely.

Frank smiled at her, and gestured towards the advertising displays near the door. Lydia turned to look at the variety of films on offer. In among the modern action blockbusters, horrors, and romantic comedies, there was an old black-and-white poster for a film that she hadn't seen for many years. “Gosh!” she exclaimed.

Frank nodded and smiled. “I heard that they were showing Brief Encounter again, for a few days,” he told her. “I thought we could watch that again. Of course, if you'd rather see one of the others...”

Lydia shook her head vigorously. “No, no,” she replied with a broad smile. “It's been absolutely ages since I last saw Brief Encounter, and I always loved that film.”

Satisfied that Lydia was happy with his choice of film, Frank turned and looked towards the counters. There were still a few people queueing for their tickets.

“Why don't you wait here, while I collect the tickets?” he suggested, unlinking their arms again.

Lydia nodded, and took a couple of steps backwards so that she would not be in the way of the other patrons. Frank headed over to the counter with the shortest queue, and waited in line.

Lydia waited nervously, gripping her bag tightly in both hands. He seems like a very nice gentleman. But then again, don't they all? she thought to herself, as she looked around her immediate vicinity, mentally noting the quickest route out of the cinema. Her mind had begun to wander, imagining all manner of foul deeds that Frank may have perpetrated. She shook her head in irritation. Her imagination had a tendency to run off with itself and expect the worst from people. But he's a police officer, she chided herself. He's unlikely to have done anything bad. She sighed as she looked down at her dress again. And he's booked a table at a nice restaurant for later, she told herself, wondering if her outfit was suitable for such a posh establishment.

She shook her head again. She was certain that Frank was nothing other than a nice gentleman, despite the many phantoms her imagination was conjuring up. So she took a deep breath, and tried to banish those macabre thoughts from her head.

She glanced over towards the counters. Frank had reached the front of the queue, and was collecting their tickets. Soon, he was striding back over to where she was standing, a broad smile on his face. She smiled nervously back at him.

“Everything alright?” Frank asked, frowning.

“Yes, yes, everything's fine,” Lydia replied. “I just get nervous in places like this, with all the dark corners and strange people.”

Frank nodded. “Well then, my lady. Please allow me to protect you from whatever horrors are lurking in the darkness,” he told her with a reassuring smile. Lydia smiled back at him, less nervously this time. They linked arms again, and walked through the door leading to the screens.