He sucked his beer down. Huge mouthfuls, a third of the pint, more. It was the only thing that made any sense now, the familiar sensation of a gently spinning world easing its way into his consciousness. And still Jane Shaw came to him. The thought of losing a child was unimaginable. His own sadness, by contrast, was nauseating in its triviality, the self-pity of the divorce, of coming back to England, the sense of professional failure. Add the death of Sam to that and where would he be? What would that do to him?

‘Sorry,’ he said, realizing he’d been staring blankly for far too long. ‘I was thinking about that woman, sitting on her own, her son gone. Just gone.’

‘These things, they bother you, don’t they?’

‘Yes, still do. Always have. You say it as if they shouldn’t?’

‘But it’s obvious, isn’t it?’ she said, her mouth pulled off-centre, the beginnings of a sneer that she couldn’t hide. ‘The world is pathetically, horrifically cruel, Joe. It’s just… I mean, isn’t that your job?’

‘My job?’

‘The police. To see the evil?’

‘We see it, yes.’

‘But to set the world right, Joe? It’s your job? Isn’t it? Joe?’

‘I…’

‘Or do you just log it down, add it to the stats? Perhaps that’s the bloody problem, the… I…’ She grabbed the edge of the bar and with some difficulty got to her feet. ‘I’ve drunk too much. I’m sorry.’

He didn’t want to embrace her now. He wanted to sleep, to sober up, to see his son. He wanted to go home. And the feeling appeared to be mutual.

They stood outside the pub waiting for Joe’s taxi. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the alcoholic fug from his mind, and did his best to stand upright. Meanwhile, the cold evening air had instantly restored her to sobriety. Her face was composed, with that same confident smile that had been so captivating yesterday in the library.

‘You know,’ he said, ‘I’ve lived in Leeds most of my life, and I’ve never really got to know many of these old villages. They crop up everywhere. And the valleys, the rolling hills, the whole thing. It’s a beautiful place. My family weren’t much for the countryside.’

‘Well, now you know this one.’ She looked out across the cricket field, and to the open grassland that rose steadily beyond. ‘There are plenty more. I’ll have to show you. Oh, by the way,’ she added, as a taxi pulled into the entrance, ‘weren’t you supposed to be interviewing me tonight?’

‘It went clean out of my mind. We can do it another time.’

She kissed him lightly on the lips.

‘I can take you home,’ he said. ‘Drop you off, I mean.’