By the end of the meeting Tom had managed to convince Philippa that he needed to continue to treat the case as one of his many priorities, but it was a hard-won battle, and as it was after six he decided to take the unusual step of going home before the rest of his team. They were avidly studying CCTV footage from the main roads leading to the Flash, but he had a feeling they were clutching at straws. He felt a momentary pang of guilt at leaving them to it, but an evening with Louisa would relax him, and hopefully he could return the next day with a clear mind.

As he drove home through the dark winter streets he thought back to when he had first met Louisa. It seemed so long ago now, although it wasn’t really. She had been a friend and colleague of one of the victims of a particularly horrific crime, and in her role as an anaesthetist had been involved in the care of Tom’s ex-girlfriend, Leo. With the trauma of all that had happened during those weeks, he hadn’t made a move to get to know her better, and it had taken Becky to engineer a meeting between the two of them. Since then they had spent as much time together as their work schedules permitted.

As he pulled into the drive, Tom was delighted to see that Louisa’s car was already there.

‘Hi,’ he shouted as he pushed open the front door. He knew she would be in the kitchen, probably poring over something work-related on her laptop. She was as much of a workaholic as he was.

She turned her head as he walked through the door, her shoulder-length auburn hair shimmering in the spotlight above the table. ‘You’re home early,’ she said, giving him a beaming smile. ‘That’s nice.’

Tom walked over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, bending down to kiss the back of her neck.

‘Get off,’ she said with a laugh. ‘You’ll make me lose my concentration.’

‘Would that be such a bad thing?’ he asked, not moving.

‘Have patience, man! We have the whole evening – and the night.’

He was pleased to hear she would be staying, because she didn’t always and he wanted to change that. Louisa had now met his daughter, Lucy, several times, and from the start they had been comfortable in each other’s company. Lucy liked her, which was the main thing and a huge relief to Tom, and Louisa seemed to enjoy watching Tom’s affectionate relationship with his child, who was fast becoming an opinionated teenager.

He let his arms drop and walked over to the central island to pour himself a glass of wine, leaving Louisa to turn back to her work.

‘Need a top-up?’ he asked, seeing she had a glass next to her on the table.