So, this kid went missing on a school trip? And Mike works there, and he was on this trip?

Yeah. Don’t start getting ideas, I told her, not willing to admit I’d already wondered if Mike was involved. I was about to tell her about the murdered head teacher but stopped myself. I couldn’t talk about it until it was released to the media.

Anna raised her eyebrows at me. Don’t assume anything, Paige. Make sure you tell Singh about him, then he can have a look into his background.

I didn’t have the energy to argue with her. Besides, perhaps it was a good idea to tell Singh at least some of what had gone on, so he understood why I wanted to avoid Mike as much as possible.

Have you told Max?

About Mike? God no. I don’t want to open up that can of worms.

No, I mean have you told him you’re still at work?

Shit. She was right, I should have told him earlier, but I’d lost track of time. We were supposed to be meeting up but I wouldn’t make it there in time, especially not in the snow. Saying goodbye to Anna, I hung up and sent Max a quick text to tell him I’d have to postpone. I waited for a couple of minutes to see if he’d reply, and I was rewarded with the ping of an incoming message.

No problem. Maybe see you tomorrow instead?

Sure :)

Seeing his name pop up on my phone screen always made me smile. I had no idea what I’d be doing tomorrow, because it really depended on the weather and if I was able to get to Lincoln, but I really wanted to see him. We’d been dating for nearly nine months, and even though we were taking things slowly I had to admit it felt good to have someone who cared about me the way he did. At the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a relationship, though Anna and Gem had been encouraging me to get out and meet someone for a while. Things had been going well, Max had been so understanding whenever I’d been hesitant, and I was finally enjoying being part of a couple for the first time in a while. Now I’d stumbled across Mike again, and the reasons why I hadn’t dated for three years all came rushing back, as well as the reasons why I’d fallen for Mike in the first place. Max was nothing like Mike, I knew that, but the way Mike had treated me still affected how I thought and behaved even now.