exotic than my office and the canteen, but without your constant plaguing presence wherever I turn, I shall be on holiday in my heart.” ’
‘Believe me, Proust can’t wait for you to get back. He’s counting the days.’
‘Don’t say that,’ Simon warned her. He hated the idea that his DI might feel anything but loathing for him.
‘We left Liv and Gibbs alone together,’ said Charlie. ‘What if Liv got even more pissed than she was already and told Gibbs, and what if . . . ?’ She didn’t want to put it into words, in case that would make it more likely to come true.
‘Gibbs?’ Simon laughed. ‘Gibbs makes no effort to speak to me when I’m sitting next to him. He’s not going to go to the trouble of tracking me down in Spain. Why would he?’
‘All it would take would be for something a bit less mundane than usual to come up at work, and everyone would think, “If only Simon were here, if only we could ask him what he thinks . . .” ’
‘No, they wouldn’t. They’d think, “Thank God Waterhouse isn’t here to over-complicate things.” ’
‘You know that’s not true. Sam Kombothekra doesn’t think like that. And if Gibbs—’
‘For fuck’s sake, Charlie! Olivia isn’t going to tell Gibbs where we are, Gibbs isn’t going to tell Sam, Sam isn’t going to stumble over a problem in the next fortnight that he needs to talk to me about. Okay? Relax.’
He was right; it was unlikely they’d be disturbed by anyone from home. So why couldn’t Charlie shift the anxiety that was taking up space in her lungs, space she needed for breathing?
‘I’m all yours for a fortnight, so count yourself unlucky,’ said Simon. ‘What’s that Mark Twain quote? “I’ve worried about thousands of things in my life, a few of which have actually happened.” Or words to that effect. Look.’ He pointed to the gap between two trees, to a large mountain in the distance.
‘What am I supposed to be looking at?’ Charlie asked.
‘The mountain. See the face?’
‘The mountain face?’
‘No, an actual face. It looks like it’s got a face.’
‘I can’t see anything. What, you mean like eyes, nose, mouth?’
‘And eyebrows, and I can see an ear, I think. Can’t you see it?’
‘No.’ Charlie tried not to sound cross. ‘I can’t see a face in the mountain. Is it attractive?’
‘It’s got to be a trick of the light, but . . . I wonder whether it’ll change as the sun moves. It must be something to do with the shadows cast by the rocky ridges.’
Charlie stared for a long time, but no face made itself apparent to her. Stupidly, she felt left out. Simon and his boat had floated to the other side of the pool. Might as well do a few lengths, she decided, keep herself fit. She resolved not to panic from now on when she saw Domingo coming her way, even if she did have a startlingly clear image in her mind of him ambushing her and Simon with the words, ‘Phone, England,’ waving his mobile in the air.
‘Charlie?’
‘Mm?’
‘What would you do if . . . ?’ Simon shook his head. ‘Nothing,’ he said.
‘What would I do if what?’
‘Never mind. Forget it.’
‘I can’t forget it, and you know I can’t,’ she said. ‘Tell me.’
‘There’s nothing to tell.’
‘ Tell me!’
What would you do if I asked you for a divorce? What would you do if I said I wanted us to sleep in separate rooms?
‘I’m imagining bad things here. Do you want to put me out of my misery?’
‘It’s nothing bad,’ he said. ‘It’s nothing to do with you and me.’
Meaning that if it was something relating to the two of them it would, by necessity, be bad?
Stop creating problems where none exist, Zailer.
Charlie swore under her breath. She knew she was about to spend at least the next two hours trying to make him tell her, and she knew she would fail.
‘You’ve got to go ,’ Olivia told Gibbs, pressing her hands against his ribcage. For the past hour she’d been trying
‘Believe me, Proust can’t wait for you to get back. He’s counting the days.’
‘Don’t say that,’ Simon warned her. He hated the idea that his DI might feel anything but loathing for him.
‘We left Liv and Gibbs alone together,’ said Charlie. ‘What if Liv got even more pissed than she was already and told Gibbs, and what if . . . ?’ She didn’t want to put it into words, in case that would make it more likely to come true.
‘Gibbs?’ Simon laughed. ‘Gibbs makes no effort to speak to me when I’m sitting next to him. He’s not going to go to the trouble of tracking me down in Spain. Why would he?’
‘All it would take would be for something a bit less mundane than usual to come up at work, and everyone would think, “If only Simon were here, if only we could ask him what he thinks . . .” ’
‘No, they wouldn’t. They’d think, “Thank God Waterhouse isn’t here to over-complicate things.” ’
‘You know that’s not true. Sam Kombothekra doesn’t think like that. And if Gibbs—’
‘For fuck’s sake, Charlie! Olivia isn’t going to tell Gibbs where we are, Gibbs isn’t going to tell Sam, Sam isn’t going to stumble over a problem in the next fortnight that he needs to talk to me about. Okay? Relax.’
He was right; it was unlikely they’d be disturbed by anyone from home. So why couldn’t Charlie shift the anxiety that was taking up space in her lungs, space she needed for breathing?
‘I’m all yours for a fortnight, so count yourself unlucky,’ said Simon. ‘What’s that Mark Twain quote? “I’ve worried about thousands of things in my life, a few of which have actually happened.” Or words to that effect. Look.’ He pointed to the gap between two trees, to a large mountain in the distance.
‘What am I supposed to be looking at?’ Charlie asked.
‘The mountain. See the face?’
‘The mountain face?’
‘No, an actual face. It looks like it’s got a face.’
‘I can’t see anything. What, you mean like eyes, nose, mouth?’
‘And eyebrows, and I can see an ear, I think. Can’t you see it?’
‘No.’ Charlie tried not to sound cross. ‘I can’t see a face in the mountain. Is it attractive?’
‘It’s got to be a trick of the light, but . . . I wonder whether it’ll change as the sun moves. It must be something to do with the shadows cast by the rocky ridges.’
Charlie stared for a long time, but no face made itself apparent to her. Stupidly, she felt left out. Simon and his boat had floated to the other side of the pool. Might as well do a few lengths, she decided, keep herself fit. She resolved not to panic from now on when she saw Domingo coming her way, even if she did have a startlingly clear image in her mind of him ambushing her and Simon with the words, ‘Phone, England,’ waving his mobile in the air.
‘Charlie?’
‘Mm?’
‘What would you do if . . . ?’ Simon shook his head. ‘Nothing,’ he said.
‘What would I do if what?’
‘Never mind. Forget it.’
‘I can’t forget it, and you know I can’t,’ she said. ‘Tell me.’
‘There’s nothing to tell.’
‘ Tell me!’
What would you do if I asked you for a divorce? What would you do if I said I wanted us to sleep in separate rooms?
‘I’m imagining bad things here. Do you want to put me out of my misery?’
‘It’s nothing bad,’ he said. ‘It’s nothing to do with you and me.’
Meaning that if it was something relating to the two of them it would, by necessity, be bad?
Stop creating problems where none exist, Zailer.
Charlie swore under her breath. She knew she was about to spend at least the next two hours trying to make him tell her, and she knew she would fail.
‘You’ve got to go ,’ Olivia told Gibbs, pressing her hands against his ribcage. For the past hour she’d been trying
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