bloody obvious that things have got serious between us?’
He started to speak but she put a finger against his lips and grinned.
‘I don’t expect you to respond right now,’ she said. ‘You need to think about it and we need to talk about it. But it ought to wait until after this latest case because that’s what we should be fully focused on.’
Temple was rarely lost for words, but on this occasion he could not think of anything to say. Angel had completely thrown him. His heart was beating furiously and there was a tingle in his eyes. He decided his best bet was to say nothing. Play it cool and be non-committal. That way he wouldn’t mess things up by blurting out something that was stupid or inappropriate. She was right. He needed to think this one through.
‘Tell you what,’ he said. ‘I’ll get you that cup of tea
before
I have a shower.’
Temple’s mood was buoyant as he drove into the city. He still couldn’t believe that Angel wanted to move in with him. He’d convinced himself that the affair would fizzle out; that when it came right down to it they weren’t a particularly good match. But before they left the house she had made a point of telling him that she was being sincere.
‘I really do think we’re great together,’ she’d said, and he was sure she’d meant it.
He glanced in the rear view mirror at her little grey Corsa. She waved at him through the windscreen and he waved back. Jesus, he thought, I feel like a loved-up teenager. He did have strong feelings for her, of course. He had known it for some time but hadn’t wanted to face up to it. And he was pretty confident that she wouldn’t lead him on. Come to think of it, hadn’t she dropped enough hints in recent weeks? She’d told him she didn’t want to have any children, and when he’d pressed her on this she’d been adamant that she did not want to bring a child into a world as shitty as this one.
She’d gone on to say that when she finally settled down it would be with a mature man who was kind, considerate and financially secure. She could have said the man of her dreams would have to be young, handsome and incredibly virile. But she hadn’t – and now he couldn’t wait to talk it through with her. It promised to be a life-changing conversation for both of them.
With a degree of effort he managed to switch his mind away from his personal life and focus on the case. Whilst having breakfast he had received a call from the incident room and been informed that the murdered girl’s fingerprints were not on the database.
However, they got a result shortly after Temple and Angel arrived at the station. A female viewer of Sky’s morning news programme saw the appeal for information and called the number that was given out. The woman claimed she lived in Southampton and was a friend and neighbour of a girl named Genna Boyd who hadn’t been seen for several days.
The description she gave matched that of the girl found in the forest.
14
I snapped awake in a panic, my face and body drenched in a cold sweat. But the air in the room was warm and heavy – claustrophobic .
I pushed back the duvet and stared up at the ceiling, wondering why the electric fan wasn’t working. I was sure it had been on when we got back into bed last night. So maybe it was something else that couldn’t be explained, along with the snake, the doors and that terrible smell. Not to mention the muffled voices downstairs that Nicole had attributed to Michael.
Daylight filtered into the room through a narrow gap in the heavy drapes. I craned my neck to check the clock. The digital display read 09:15. I managed to get up without waking Nicole. I slipped on my jeans and a T-shirt and crept quietly out of the bedroom. I used the bathroom at the end of the landing to relieve my bladder and then went downstairs.
Thankfully there were no unwelcome surprises waiting for me. No snakes. No bad smells. All the doors were still closed and it seemed like
He started to speak but she put a finger against his lips and grinned.
‘I don’t expect you to respond right now,’ she said. ‘You need to think about it and we need to talk about it. But it ought to wait until after this latest case because that’s what we should be fully focused on.’
Temple was rarely lost for words, but on this occasion he could not think of anything to say. Angel had completely thrown him. His heart was beating furiously and there was a tingle in his eyes. He decided his best bet was to say nothing. Play it cool and be non-committal. That way he wouldn’t mess things up by blurting out something that was stupid or inappropriate. She was right. He needed to think this one through.
‘Tell you what,’ he said. ‘I’ll get you that cup of tea
before
I have a shower.’
Temple’s mood was buoyant as he drove into the city. He still couldn’t believe that Angel wanted to move in with him. He’d convinced himself that the affair would fizzle out; that when it came right down to it they weren’t a particularly good match. But before they left the house she had made a point of telling him that she was being sincere.
‘I really do think we’re great together,’ she’d said, and he was sure she’d meant it.
He glanced in the rear view mirror at her little grey Corsa. She waved at him through the windscreen and he waved back. Jesus, he thought, I feel like a loved-up teenager. He did have strong feelings for her, of course. He had known it for some time but hadn’t wanted to face up to it. And he was pretty confident that she wouldn’t lead him on. Come to think of it, hadn’t she dropped enough hints in recent weeks? She’d told him she didn’t want to have any children, and when he’d pressed her on this she’d been adamant that she did not want to bring a child into a world as shitty as this one.
She’d gone on to say that when she finally settled down it would be with a mature man who was kind, considerate and financially secure. She could have said the man of her dreams would have to be young, handsome and incredibly virile. But she hadn’t – and now he couldn’t wait to talk it through with her. It promised to be a life-changing conversation for both of them.
With a degree of effort he managed to switch his mind away from his personal life and focus on the case. Whilst having breakfast he had received a call from the incident room and been informed that the murdered girl’s fingerprints were not on the database.
However, they got a result shortly after Temple and Angel arrived at the station. A female viewer of Sky’s morning news programme saw the appeal for information and called the number that was given out. The woman claimed she lived in Southampton and was a friend and neighbour of a girl named Genna Boyd who hadn’t been seen for several days.
The description she gave matched that of the girl found in the forest.
14
I snapped awake in a panic, my face and body drenched in a cold sweat. But the air in the room was warm and heavy – claustrophobic .
I pushed back the duvet and stared up at the ceiling, wondering why the electric fan wasn’t working. I was sure it had been on when we got back into bed last night. So maybe it was something else that couldn’t be explained, along with the snake, the doors and that terrible smell. Not to mention the muffled voices downstairs that Nicole had attributed to Michael.
Daylight filtered into the room through a narrow gap in the heavy drapes. I craned my neck to check the clock. The digital display read 09:15. I managed to get up without waking Nicole. I slipped on my jeans and a T-shirt and crept quietly out of the bedroom. I used the bathroom at the end of the landing to relieve my bladder and then went downstairs.
Thankfully there were no unwelcome surprises waiting for me. No snakes. No bad smells. All the doors were still closed and it seemed like
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