‘So you say. I’d have hoped that the good working relationship we’d forged would have meant you felt you could come to me and discuss it, that’s all. If we’d agreed your resignation was the only alternative, I wouldn’t have stood in your way. Instead of which, you just . . . ran off, no debriefing, nothing!’

Jazz’s face was impassive. ‘Oh. So, that’s why you’re here, is it? To debrief me?’

Norton gave a small sigh of frustration. ‘Come now, I’m doing my best here. You’re acting like a truculent teenager. The fact is, technically, you’re still employed by us.’ He pulled an envelope out of his inner breast pocket and pushed it towards her.

‘What’s this?’ she murmured, frowning. Inside were payslips, correspondence relating to the account she’d shared with Patrick, the monthly statements which had continued to be sent to her old home and which, obviously, she hadn’t seen. Also in the envelope was the resignation letter she’d hurriedly scribbled at the airport and posted before she got on the plane to Pisa.

‘Not a very . . . professional departure, was it?’

‘No, I suppose it wasn’t, though I can’t see that it matters now.’ Jazz tucked the letter back into the envelope and offered it to him. ‘There you are, Sir. I’m handing this to you officially. I resign. Will that do?’

‘Yes, if that’s the way you want it. Look, Jazmine, I do understand; I know you felt let down and demoralised and your personal life was in ruins. You probably needed some time to think things through . . .’

‘Yup! That just about covers it, Sir.’ She nodded vehemently.

‘And because you were angry and bitter, you acted on your instincts and, at the time, your instincts told you to run. But you were also blinded by them. Can’t you see that?’

Jazz didn’t say anything.

‘And,’ Norton continued, ‘because you were blinded you made a spur of the moment decision, which, in addition to ruining a promising career, lost me one of my best officers. Look,’ he smiled gently, ‘I’m not an idiot. I knew what was going on. Finding out about your husband, especially if you were practically the last to know about it, must have been awful.’

Silence.

Norton sighed. ‘It all comes back to the same thing: relationships at work are dangerous, especially doing what we do. I told DCI Coughlin that when he told me you two wanted to get married.’

Jazz looked up. ‘Did he? Patrick told me you’d given us your blessing.’

‘I actually suggested that one of you transfer to another division so that at least you wouldn’t be tripping over each other. He begged me to let you stay where you were. So rather than lose both of you I decided to give it a try, against my better judgement, I might add.’

‘Er, Sir, did you say DCI?’

‘Yes. Your ex-husband has recently been promoted.’

‘Don’t bother to send him my congratulations.’