She smiled to herself. So this is how things would be. Two cops whose jobs came first. Marie, of course, had been here before and knew it was possible to make it work. Ralph, on the other hand, had always had girlfriends from outside the force. So, if one of them decided it was too difficult to continue, it would be him. Time would tell.

She texted back: Stay safe, ring when you can.

She sat back down at her desk. This was all quite foreign to her. Her and Bill’s romance had begun a long time ago now, and she had been a lot younger. She remembered the intensity of it. From their first date, she had known they would marry, and so had he. She smiled at the memory. They had driven to Skegness, then up to the nature reserve at Gibraltar Point and walked on the beach. There they had sat on the dunes and watched the sea, eating crisps and drinking tea bought in the Visitor Centre. When the sun set and they were alone, Bill had kissed her. She saw again the setting sun and felt his lips on hers. On the way back to the car park Bill had said, ‘You know you’re saddled with me now, right?’ She remembered the thrill his words gave her, she could think of nothing better. It wasn’t long before they moved in together, and looking back, she was glad that they had. At least it had given them some time together. Bill died on the last day of their honeymoon, killed riding his precious vintage motorbike.

Marie blinked. Time to move on. They had a killer to catch.

* * *

Having just finished a meeting at Greenborough, Laura drove home, readying herself for her appointment with her latest patient, the one that was causing her such concern.

Freddie Shields. His was probably the most complicated case she’d ever had. On the surface, he appeared to be an intelligent and well-balanced young man, but she felt certain that whatever triggered his sleepwalking, he wasn’t sharing it with her. The purpose of today’s meeting was to try to get him to open up more. She’d seen him three times now, and at least he seemed somewhat more relaxed than during their first session. They’d covered all the standard questions that helped establish a picture of the client, their problem and how they saw it. Now it was time to dig deeper.

Back in her consulting room, she adjusted the lighting. She varied its brightness and direction according to the patient and their problem. People reacted differently in different lighting, and she needed to make them feel comfortable and at ease. It was important to create a healthy, peaceful environment for her patient and herself.

For the umpteenth time, she went through his case notes. Shields was thirty-nine years old, divorced and currently in a relationship with a teacher at the Saltern Academy. He lived in Saltern-le-Fen, in a Victorian end terrace close to the park. Being at the end, his garden was bigger than the others and had room for a small annexe that he’d built for his mother. He had described this in great detail. It was designed to allow her to live independently while being close to him, giving them both peace of mind.