Lewis blew the air from his mouth, avoiding direct eye contact. ‘How’s Ed doing?’

Kesey relaxed slightly, lowering her arms to her sides. ‘The medicine seems to be working quicker than expected. Or maybe he’s getting better by himself. I was seriously worried for a while. Thanks for asking.’

‘That is good news. Glad to hear it.’

‘Yeah, it’s great.’

He reached for his car keys. ‘Right, I’d better make a move. Hopefully, I can build some bridges with Megan on the way back to her place. God knows, the woman can do with all the support she can get.’

Kesey forced a thin smile. ‘No-one said police work is easy.’

‘You’ve got that right.’

‘I’ll see you later, Ray. There’s a couple of nonces I want to discuss. One with links to Peter Davies. Davies was out of the country, but his contact wasn’t.’

‘The scumbags network, that’s the problem.’

‘Yeah, I know. We can talk about it later.’

The big man nodded. ‘Anything you need while I’m out and about?’

She reached into a pocket, retrieving a folded five-pound note. ‘A bag of toffees, if you’re passing the supermarket. Or a bar of dark chocolate, a big one, either would be fine.’

‘Okay, no problem, I was planning to call in that new place by the garden centre, I could do with some fags.’

‘I thought you’d given up.’

He laughed humourlessly. ‘Yeah, so did I.’

She reached out, offering him the money, but withdrew her hand when he didn’t accept it, waving it away. ‘We are going to find Lottie, Ray. We’ll get the break we need. Just you wait and see.’

‘Let’s hope so, time’s passing. If any of the dirty bastards we’re looking at have got her, it doesn’t bear thinking about. I’d nail the filthy cunts to a tree by their balls if it were up to me. And leave them there to rot.’

Kesey grinned, despite the tension, conflicted memories of her mentor flooding back and surrounding her. ‘Grav used to say much the same thing back in the day.’

Lewis glanced back on approaching the door. ‘Yeah, and he meant it too. Now, there was a DI who knew what he was talking about. I’ll see you later, it’s time for me to go.’

24

Lewis was profusely apologetic as he drove Megan from Caerystwyth Police Station to her Picton Street home. He apologised that she’d been arrested in the first place; he apologised that she’d been detained for over two miserable hours; but most of all, he apologised for the fact that she’d been released on pre-charge police bail pending further enquiries.

He explained that all of this had been done contrary to his advice, stressing that he didn’t suspect her of any crime, let alone harming her own daughter. He said it and meant it.

But none of this seemed to make Megan feel any better. It was often more comfortable to talk sitting alongside an interviewee, rather than opposite them, eye to eye, and Lewis tried to take full advantage of his opportunity.