No Mark Upon Her

seen it yet. But I don’t like to think— She’d have wanted—” Atterton stopped, his voice unsteady, and Kieran realized suddenly that this was a man teetering on the edge of emotional collapse. He knew, because he had stared into the precipice himself, and even now he might stumble into it.
    Kieran steeled himself to look across the water. “I would, of course. But I don’t know if I can. My workshop—”
    “Superintendent Kincaid told me what happened,” said Freddie. “It doesn’t look too bad from here. How do you get across?”
    “I’ve got a skiff.” Kieran gestured towards his little rowboat, tied up a few yards nearer the museum.
    “Can we go over? All of us?” Freddie’s nod included the dogs.
    Kieran was still feeling befuddled by the whole exchange, but found he was glad enough of an excuse not to go alone, however odd his companion. “Yeah, okay.” He dropped Finn’s lead. “Finn, go get the boat.”
    Finn bounded down to the skiff, and, taking the rope in his mouth, pulled the boat up against the bank.
    As soon as Kieran reached the boat and grabbed the rope, Finn leapt in, grinning at them in Labrador glee.
    “He’d rather swim, I’ll wager,” said Freddie, laughing.
    Tosh jumped in only after Kieran and Freddie had joined Finn in the skiff, her dark eyebrows furrowed in a look that said she didn’t like this particular adventure, but would make the best of it.
    Kieran rowed across to the island, where Freddie tied them up with quick expertise.
    “You row, don’t you?” Kieran asked as they climbed ashore.
    “Did,” said Freddie. “But that was a long time ago. Water under the bridge.” He shrugged, then nodded towards the shed. “Let’s take a look at the damage, shall we? Are you game?”
    Kieran put the dogs in a stay, swallowed hard, and followed him.
    I t wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. Broken glass, water-sludged ash, scorched beams—but his tools and the structure itself seemed to be intact. His clothes, camp bed, and personal belongings were undoubtedly smoke- and water-damaged, but those were things that could be replaced or done without.
    The boat he’d been repairing, however, was buggered. Its carbon-fiber hull was blistered and crazed, the scorch marks clearly visible.
    “Oh, God,” said Kieran, staring at it. He felt a wave of dizziness. “This—I don’t have insurance to cover this. Bloody hell.”
    Freddie joined him in his examination. “Can it be fixed?”
    “Well, maybe, but it’ll be a hard job, and can’t be done without clearing up this mess and repairing the damage to the shed—” Kieran shook his head, overwhelmed.
    “Look,” said Freddie slowly. “I know it sounds weird, but if it’s hard labor you need, I’ll help. I can sand and scrub and sweep, or whatever.”
    Perplexed, Kieran looked at the man he’d first seen standing outside Leander in a perfectly tailored suit, looking as if he’d never dirtied a finger. But Freddie Atterton was an Oxford Blue—God knew Becca had told him that often enough—so he had to be tougher than he looked. “I don’t understand,” Kieran said. “Why should you—”
    “Look at this place,” Freddie interrupted, his gesture taking in the undamaged cabinet of solvents, the paint, the polishing rags. “I’m not much for miracles, but the fact that there’s anything left of this place, or of you, is bloody astounding. You can’t just give up. It would be— It would mean that whoever did this to you and to Becca had won. Do you see?”
    “I don’t—”
    Outside, Finn gave the distinctive little yip he used to greet people he knew and liked.
    “Hi, Kieran,” came a shout.
    “It’s John, my neighbor,” said Kieran. He suddenly felt he couldn’t stand the stink of wet ash another second. “Let’s go out.”
    When they emerged onto the patch of lawn, John greeted Kieran with a handshake and a pat on the back. “That’s quite a bruise,” he said, “but I’m just glad to see you in one piece. You gave us a fright the other night.”
    Freddie held out a hand and introduced himself. If John wondered what connection Freddie had with Kieran, he was too polite to ask.
    “I’ve got something for you.” John held out a key to Kieran. “Your single’s in my shed. Keep it there as long as you need.” With a wave, he walked back towards his house.
    “Your single?” asked Freddie. He glanced at Kieran’s old shell, up on trestles near the landing raft. “I