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Chapters (62)
  1. Title
  2. Copyright
  3. Contents
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Book
  6. Dedication
  7. Your Worst Nightmare
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. The Answer to All Your Prayers
  18. TEN
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. THIRTEEN
  22. FOURTEEN
  23. FIFTEEN
  24. SIXTEEN
  25. SEVENTEEN
  26. EIGHTEEN
  27. NINETEEN
  28. TWENTY
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. Somebody Else’s Child
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. FORTY
  50. FORTY-ONE
  51. FORTY-TWO
  52. FORTY-THREE
  53. FORTY-FOUR
  54. FORTY-FIVE
  55. FORTY-SIX
  56. FORTY-SEVEN
  57. FORTY-EIGHT
  58. FORTY-NINE
  59. Sunlight on Water
  60. July
  61. September
  62. Acknowledgements

Back in his own room, Dora hasn’t stirred. His side of the bed is cold, and he presses up against her, trying to push away the thought that she won’t always be there.

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWENTY-SEVEN

22 August

As Hagen enters the office the next morning, his earphones are in, so he doesn’t hear Naylor call his name. He’s wanting to hear the end of the track he’s listening to, and by the time it’s finished and the earphones are out, Naylor’s standing right next to him.

‘Morning,’ says Naylor, and Hagen jumps. ‘Anyone could whack you over the head and rob you when you’ve got those things in. Doesn’t it worry you, when you’re walking down the street, that you’re a target?’

Hagen grins.

‘I don’t do much walking,’ he says. ‘Everywhere I go, I dance.’

Naylor narrows her eyes.

‘You’re in a very good mood,’ she says. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I met the girl of my dreams,’ says Hagen. ‘Well, she was last night, anyway.’

‘Forget her for now,’ says Naylor. ‘I’ve got a job for you, a nice little desk job. Come and look at this.’

Hagen follows her to her desk, where she pulls up the Petersen’s dummy website on her monitor. She had a good look at it last night following her phone conversation with Ron, but if she’s going to try and reel anyone in, she wants to do it from an official computer.

‘Brian Birch, last official owner of our red Ford Focus and alleged employee of Petersen’s pneumatics.’ She clicks on a couple of the menu buttons. ‘See? Next to nothing there. To be honest, I’m not optimistic this will take us anywhere. Chances are all Brian Birch is guilty of is deceiving his wife, for reasons which will likely turn out to be entirely personal. If he’s lost his job and daren’t tell her, he won’t be the first or the last. But I want you to have a good look at him. No stone unturned.’

‘You’ve been talking to Ron.’

‘Here’s your starter for ten, address and mobile number.’ She gives him a piece of paper. ‘See if he’s got any form, anything at all. If there are parking tickets, I want to know where they were issued. Bank statements, definitely have a look at those. His wife thinks he works somewhere he doesn’t, so I’m interested in sources of income. Put in a request for credit card info as well, and phone records. Social media maybe, though he may not be the Facebook type.’

‘With respect,’ says Hagen, ‘I’m happy to do all that, but isn’t this one for the white-collar guys?’

‘It would be if they had any resources, but they’re more strapped than we are. So roll your sleeves up and see what you can find.’