But as he watched her leave the office, his warm feelings were replaced by anxiety. Suppose she got hurt? He’d made a few discreet enquiries about her new friend Ralph, and so far he’d passed the Jackman Test with flying colours. He seemed to be a brave, well-respected detective sergeant, known to be fair and reasonable, and was generally very well liked. Which led him to another problem. What if he lost her for good? He’d missed her desperately when she’d been away for a week, what if she decided to move away or even give up police work altogether?

Disgusted with himself for being so selfish, Jackman strode out of the office. Be happy for her, for goodness’ sake.

* * *

Sam Page dished up his grilled lamb chops, adding new potatoes and a selection of fresh local vegetables. A dash of home-made mint sauce and the meal would be complete. Apart from a nice glass of wine, that is. However, he only drank wine with dinner every other day and he’d had his ration yesterday. He was often torn between looking after his health and, in the words of an old friend of his, “living for today.” As that friend had said, there might not be a tomorrow.

Sam had always considered this attitude to be rather irresponsible, but as he grew older, he could see the reasoning behind it. Sam had powered through his busy life with no thought of either his age or his body, until suddenly, the latter began to fail him. This was doubly irritating, because in his head he was still around thirty.

He got out the wine, filled his glass to the rim, and raised it in a toast to his old friend. Here’s to tomorrow — or not.

Furthermore, he did something he never did. His father and mother would have been appalled had they seen him now, for he sat with his laptop before him and read while he ate. Laura had wanted case histories of somnambulism and he had come across very few in his long career. This was mostly because somnambulism was treated as a medical condition, not a psychological one. However, he’d remembered a former colleague having expressed an interest in it and had sent him an email.

He checked his messages and saw a reply.

Hi Sam, glad to help. Mind you, you’ve picked on a pretty contentious subject. Views on sleepwalking are often based on misconceptions and, to be frank, the established diagnostic criteria are inconsistent with the research findings, especially my own! How about we meet up? I’m in Lincoln tomorrow, any chance of you getting across and we grab lunch together? I don’t often get a chance to expound my theories on my pet subject! All the best, Hughie.

How fortuitous! Hugh Mackenzie was exactly the man he needed. He sent a quick reply: Perfect. Midday at the Birdcage? Very tasty food.

Hughie’s response came almost immediately. See you there. And remind me to tell you about the Reece case. H.