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Authors: Val McDermid
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out to meet us,’ Carol said.
Paula grinned. ‘How did you know there was sneaking involved?’
Carol shrugged. ‘I don’t imagine DCI Fielding would have let you out of the building if she’d known where you were going. Especially in the light of the latest gossip.’
Paula stared at her coffee, as if there was some fascinating message there. ‘I heard,’ she said. Then she felt ashamed of herself for her lack of support. She raised her eyes and put some spirit in her voice. ‘That sucks.’
Carol fiddled with her coffee spoon. ‘I was over the limit.’
‘Even so. Is there no way of sorting it? I could talk to DCI Franklin, I always got on with him better than you did…’
Carol held up a hand. ‘No point. John Franklin is no friend of mine, but even if he were, I think he’d struggle to make it go away. It was a fair cop, Paula.’ She shook her head, resigned. ‘I was on a back road, a mile from home, in control of my vehicle and myself, which makes it sound unlucky and unfair, but in all honesty, I’ve got no grounds for complaint.’
Paula couldn’t help admiring Carol’s honesty. In her shoes, she doubted she’d be quite so accepting of her fate. ‘Makes it sound like a conspiracy,’ she grumbled. ‘But I hear you. If there’s anything I can do to help. I mean, practically. When you…’
‘Lose my licence? Thanks, I might take you up on that. It’s not exactly straightforward, living where I do.’
‘You could move back into town for the duration,’ Tony said. ‘There’s always houseboats for rent down at the Minster Basin. We could be neighbours again.’
Paula had the feeling this was news to Carol. He’d probably waited till there was someone else around so she couldn’t explode at the suggestion.
‘Yeah, right,’ Carol said. ‘The dog would love that. Cramped and confined and constrained by the inner city. No thanks. I’d rather put up with the inconvenience. Besides, I’m not doing all this work on the barn so somebody else can have the benefit of it.’
‘Well, if you ever need a bed for the night when you’re in the city, we can always squeeze you in, there’s a sofa bed in the living room.’
Carol gave an involuntary shudder. A less understanding woman than Paula would have been offended. ‘That’s kind of you, Paula, but I wouldn’t want to intrude. I think I remind Torin too much of what happened to his mother.’
‘Speaking of death?’ Tony said with his usual flair for derailing the small talk.
‘Which we weren’t,’ Carol said.
‘We sort of were.’ Paula made an apologetic gesture with her hands. ‘Let’s face it, that’s what generally draws us together. I should have known there would be something more than a decent cup of coffee on the agenda. Fire away.’ She raised her coffee cup in a toast.
Carol and Tony exchanged a look. ‘You do it,’ he said. ‘You’re better at briefing detectives than me.’
Carol shook her head. ‘Oh no, you don’t get out of it that easily. This is your bloody mad idea.’
Tony shifted in his plain wooden chair, hooking one arm over the back of it. ‘It’s probably a chimera. Remember we were talking about Jasmine Burton on Saturday night?’
Paula nodded. ‘Yes, Torin was outraged about the trolling. He was talking about it again yesterday.’
‘There’s something about it that’s niggling at the back of my mind and I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t have any idea what it relates to, but there’s something there that’s bothering me. We were talking about it, me and Carol —’ He gestured for her to take over.
‘And I remembered Kate Rawlins. Does that ring a bell?’
Paula shook her head. ‘Sorry. Should it?’
‘The radio presenter who stuck up for the anonymity of rape victims after that twat from Northerners kicked off about being an innocent man found guilty because of a lying accuser. You remember?’
Light dawned on Paula, bringing a blast of self-disgust with it.
Paula grinned. ‘How did you know there was sneaking involved?’
Carol shrugged. ‘I don’t imagine DCI Fielding would have let you out of the building if she’d known where you were going. Especially in the light of the latest gossip.’
Paula stared at her coffee, as if there was some fascinating message there. ‘I heard,’ she said. Then she felt ashamed of herself for her lack of support. She raised her eyes and put some spirit in her voice. ‘That sucks.’
Carol fiddled with her coffee spoon. ‘I was over the limit.’
‘Even so. Is there no way of sorting it? I could talk to DCI Franklin, I always got on with him better than you did…’
Carol held up a hand. ‘No point. John Franklin is no friend of mine, but even if he were, I think he’d struggle to make it go away. It was a fair cop, Paula.’ She shook her head, resigned. ‘I was on a back road, a mile from home, in control of my vehicle and myself, which makes it sound unlucky and unfair, but in all honesty, I’ve got no grounds for complaint.’
Paula couldn’t help admiring Carol’s honesty. In her shoes, she doubted she’d be quite so accepting of her fate. ‘Makes it sound like a conspiracy,’ she grumbled. ‘But I hear you. If there’s anything I can do to help. I mean, practically. When you…’
‘Lose my licence? Thanks, I might take you up on that. It’s not exactly straightforward, living where I do.’
‘You could move back into town for the duration,’ Tony said. ‘There’s always houseboats for rent down at the Minster Basin. We could be neighbours again.’
Paula had the feeling this was news to Carol. He’d probably waited till there was someone else around so she couldn’t explode at the suggestion.
‘Yeah, right,’ Carol said. ‘The dog would love that. Cramped and confined and constrained by the inner city. No thanks. I’d rather put up with the inconvenience. Besides, I’m not doing all this work on the barn so somebody else can have the benefit of it.’
‘Well, if you ever need a bed for the night when you’re in the city, we can always squeeze you in, there’s a sofa bed in the living room.’
Carol gave an involuntary shudder. A less understanding woman than Paula would have been offended. ‘That’s kind of you, Paula, but I wouldn’t want to intrude. I think I remind Torin too much of what happened to his mother.’
‘Speaking of death?’ Tony said with his usual flair for derailing the small talk.
‘Which we weren’t,’ Carol said.
‘We sort of were.’ Paula made an apologetic gesture with her hands. ‘Let’s face it, that’s what generally draws us together. I should have known there would be something more than a decent cup of coffee on the agenda. Fire away.’ She raised her coffee cup in a toast.
Carol and Tony exchanged a look. ‘You do it,’ he said. ‘You’re better at briefing detectives than me.’
Carol shook her head. ‘Oh no, you don’t get out of it that easily. This is your bloody mad idea.’
Tony shifted in his plain wooden chair, hooking one arm over the back of it. ‘It’s probably a chimera. Remember we were talking about Jasmine Burton on Saturday night?’
Paula nodded. ‘Yes, Torin was outraged about the trolling. He was talking about it again yesterday.’
‘There’s something about it that’s niggling at the back of my mind and I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t have any idea what it relates to, but there’s something there that’s bothering me. We were talking about it, me and Carol —’ He gestured for her to take over.
‘And I remembered Kate Rawlins. Does that ring a bell?’
Paula shook her head. ‘Sorry. Should it?’
‘The radio presenter who stuck up for the anonymity of rape victims after that twat from Northerners kicked off about being an innocent man found guilty because of a lying accuser. You remember?’
Light dawned on Paula, bringing a blast of self-disgust with it.
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