‘It was on the news.’

‘You didn’t mention it.’

Frances took a sip of the cool, crisp wine. ‘It’s your business, Tony. I thought you’d get round to it in your own good time if you wanted to talk about it. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t.’

His smile was wry. ‘I think you’re the only woman I’ve ever known who didn’t have the nosy gene.’

‘Oh, I can be as nosy as the next person. But I’ve learned the hard way that poking my nose in where it’s not wanted is a great recipe for screwing up a relationship.’ The allusion to her failed marriage was as oblique as Tony’s occasional reference to his profiling experiences, but he picked it up loud and clear.

‘I’ll give her a quick ring back while you’re finishing off in here,’ he said.

Frances stopped what she was doing and watched him walk away. She had a feeling tonight would be one of those nights when she was wakened in the chill hours before dawn by Tony shouting in his sleep and thrashing around beneath the bedclothes. She’d never complained to him; she’d read enough about serial killers to have an idea what terrors were lodged in his consciousness. She enjoyed what they shared, but that didn’t mean she wanted to partake of his demons.

She couldn’t have known how very different that made her from Carol Jordan.

Chapter 5

5

Carol leaned back on the sofa, one hand clutching the phone, the other kneading the fur of her black cat, Nelson. ‘You’re sure you don’t mind?’ she asked, knowing it was a formality. Tony never offered anything he didn’t mean.

‘If you want my help, I’ll need to see whatever brief they give you. It makes much more sense for you to bring it with you so we can go through it together,’ Tony said, sounding matter of fact.

‘I really appreciate this.’

‘It’s not a problem. Compared to what we’ve worked through in the past, it’ll be a pleasure.’

Carol shuddered. Someone walking across her grave. ‘You heard about Vance’s appeal?’

‘It was on the radio news,’ he said.

‘He’s not going to succeed, you know,’ she said, more confidently than she felt. ‘He’s just another guest of Her Majesty, thanks to us. He tried every trick in the book and a few others besides at the trial, and we still managed to convince a jury that was predisposed to love him. He’s not going to get past three law lords.’ Nelson protested as her fingers dug too deeply into his flesh.

‘I’d like to think so. But I’ve always had a bad feeling about Vance.’