Karene studied the menu again. ‘She’s an idiot.’

They ate and drank as the restaurant filled with trendy Londoners chatting about their day. Their conversation was easy and fun. And by the time they left the restaurant Karene’s cheeks were aching from all the smiling.

‘Have you seen our ship on the Thames?’ Harry said as he held the door open for her. The evening was chilly and she pulled her jacket tighter around her.

‘Our ship?’ Karene asked. He placed his hand on the small of her back as they exited on to the street.

‘HMS Belfast. It’s a museum ship now. Not far from here. Would you like to see it? It might help you to put my world into context.’

Karene had hoped they might find an excuse to extend their ‘date’ and so happily agreed to the walk along the riverside and towards London Bridge. The drinks had made her tipsy and she bumped into Harry as they walked.

‘You OK?’ he asked.

‘I’m great.’ This was the loveliest evening she’d had in the longest time. She smiled at him; this man who she felt she’d known her whole life. What a cliché; the sort of thing that usually made her roll her eyes.

Harry smiled and then he stopped. ‘Do you think …?’

Karene turned to look at him. ‘Do I th—’

Before she could finish, Harry had taken her face in his hands and was kissing her.

She wondered what everyone must think of two adults kissing like this, there in full view of the world. She’d never been kissed this way before and then suddenly, in the middle of the whole dizzying thing, she had the craziest thought: this man kisses me as if he loves me.

12

Caroline Peterson’s home was tidy and clinical. Bloom had grown up with a hospital consultant for a mother so she knew how one environment could infiltrate the other. The house was a large detached property with a spacious hall carpeted in cream and had walls lined with tasteful black and white photographs of the Peterson children. Caroline led them through to her lounge, which was so pristine it belonged in a show home.

‘What’s your role in this again?’ Her dark hair was cropped short and her elfin face covered in freckles that made her look younger than her forty-two years. She hadn’t offered them a drink and clearly had no intention of prolonging the visit.

‘We’re exploring Harry’s head injury and investigating the delay that occurred between the explosion and his hospital admission.’

‘You and Karene are personal friends?’ Caroline said.

‘We studied together.’ Bloom caught the hint of a smile on Jameson’s lips. She had lectured him on the dangers of working for friends when he had asked for her help earlier in the year.