There was a knock at the window. An irate taxi driver—presumably a recent arrival—demanded to know what the hell they thought they were playing at, until Logan held up his warrant card and indicated with a jab of a thumb that he should return to his car.

When Logan turned back, the smile had gone from Tyler’s face, his attempt at charm having fallen on deaf ears.

“Look, son, it’s best all round if you—”

“I’m scared, boss,” Tyler said. He needn’t have bothered saying the words. It was all there in his eyes.

Logan sighed. “Aye. I’ll bet. But you’ll be fine, Tyler.”

He nodded. It wasn’t a nod of agreement, though, more like he was trying to convince himself. “I know, boss. I just…”

He looked past Logan to the station entrance, where a Big Issue seller was stamping his feet to keep warm, and cracking jokes that were roundly ignored by the stony-faced passersby.

“I need to feel like I’m doing something. Like… if I stop for too long and think about it, I panic. I think what if it’s worse? You know? What if they start the op, and they find out it’s spread to the other one, and they have to take that too? Or that it’s spread further, and there’s nothing else they can do for me?”

“I think you’re getting a bit carried away, son.”

“I know! I am!” Tyler chirped. “That’s my whole point, boss. It’s stupid. But it’s just what happens when I get to thinking about it. I can’t help it. Why do you think I came back to work on my bloody honeymoon? Sitting around was doing my head in.”

“That’s a normal response,” Logan said.

He spotted a taxi driver getting out of his cab and storming towards the Beamer, so he clicked the button that activated the concealed flashing blue lights. The driver pulled a perfect U-turn and got right back into his car.

“But my point is, boss, being here… Working on something. It helps. It’s like… I can’t panic when I’m focusing on the case.”

Logan grunted. “Since when did you ever focus on a bloody case?”

“But, you know what I mean, though. Right?” Tyler pressed. “Like… whatever else is going on, if you throw yourself into the case, you can shut all that other stuff out.”

“Look, son, I get it—” Logan began, but Tyler jumped in before he could offer any further platitudes.