Johnny was becoming intoxicated and he liked it. He’d matched the landlord, drink for drink, out of some foolish bravado, and his body wasn’t used to it. The old Scot was clearly built for booze and the poison barely had an effect. Contrastingly, Johnny was becoming hammered. The young fell runner was more sensible and it made Johnny dislike him even more. The guy was solid, funny – and he’d caught his girlfriend’s eye. Correction, his ex-girlfriend’s eye. He still couldn’t work out how the break-up had happened, but that was what men did, he conceded: they went along with situations without seeing the signs behind the warnings. Kelly had tried to talk to him about his PTSD work and he’d shut her out. Every time.

He’d been arrogant. He’d not wanted to listen to what she had to say because he didn’t want to accept that she might know something about human behaviour. She’d witnessed plenty of coppers go off the radar because of trauma. Some had even killed themselves over what they’d faced. Only last year, three members of the Cumbria Constabulary had taken their lives, and it was on the increase. He’d underestimated what the police faced, and he’d pompously assumed that only military combat could produce severe trauma in individuals. He felt a dickhead, and seeing her today, working so closely with her, had made his guts turn over. Not only was she beautiful – he knew that with every fibre of his body, and the haunting dreams he had about her face – she was intelligent, and more than that, she knew people. She read them every day in her job. But it was also her passion that drew him to her. His ego had made it impossible for him to back down once he’d given a statement to the defence team, and then it was too late. His stubbornness had reared its ugly head. He’d resigned himself to another failed relationship. He’d thought Kelly was the one; he’d never felt calm like he did when he was with her, and he couldn’t believe his luck when they moved in together. Josie had fallen for her, too. Now, Josie would rather be with Kelly instead of her own father, and he got it. Kelly always told him that it was his lack of conceit that had attracted her to him. It was a cliché, but she told him he wasn’t like other guys. He guessed they all said that. But he’d dared believe her. Now, after their first major disagreement, he’d blown it, and his own obstinacy had led to where they were now. It had just got worse and worse, until they agreed he should move out. It was the same bloody-mindedness that had led to the collapse of his marriage.