Grace then cleaned the mud as best he could from his clothes, face and hands, before driving to the hospital at Eastbourne, where he waited while Glenn was being X-rayed and checked over.

The A&E doctor reported, after a long wait, that the Detective Sergeant had suffered two cracked ribs, and they were keeping him overnight for observation. It wasn’t until the doctor had assured him that his friend was OK, and not in any danger, that Grace had finally left the hospital.

Utterly all in as he finally entered the front door, he was glad that Humphrey hadn’t come trotting over for his usual hug and pat – he wasn’t sure he had the energy even for that. It took everything he had just to take his clothes off and brush his teeth, before crawling into bed as quietly as he could so as not to wake Cleo.

But she was awake.

‘How did it go?’ she murmured.

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘It was – you know – OK. Sort of – thing—’

He was sound asleep before he could finish what he was going to say.

111

Friday 13 September

‘Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead!’

Roy Grace opened his eyes to see Cleo standing over him. Although the curtains were still drawn, the room was light. He blinked several times. ‘Hey.’

‘Any idea what time it is?’

He shook his head. He had no idea at all.

‘Midday!’

Sitting up with a start, he said, ‘What?’ He looked at the bedside clock for confirmation: 12.07 p.m. ‘Shit!’

He’d planned to be in the office by 9 a.m., although he’d told his team members from last night to come in late.

‘Your buddy, Cassian Pewe, rang you a couple of hours ago. He sounded sweet as pie. Asked if you could call him back whenever it suited you.’

‘Ten years would suit me,’ he retorted. ‘That do? Although that would be too soon.’

‘So, he’s still not been arrested?’ She looked worried.

Grace shook his head. ‘It’s taking longer than I thought – they’d normally jump on something like this as an absolute priority.’ He reflected for a moment. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to Guy Batchelor. Perhaps evidence from a jailbird doesn’t cut the mustard so far as Professional Standards are concerned. In which case I’m going to be the fall guy here. And if that happens, my future in Sussex is toast. Anywhere else in England you fancy living?’

She frowned. ‘Seriously?’

‘If Pewe remains here and gets to find out, which he will, that I’d presented evidence against him, then I don’t have a future with Sussex Police – not for as long as he’s here.’

‘You’ve always got the Met as an option.’ Cleo sat on the side of the bed. ‘Let’s get the funeral behind us and then worry about it, shall we? We’re not going to let that creep affect our lives. You said Alison Vosper would have you back in the Met like a shot. So even if you had to commute to London, we could still live here, couldn’t we?’