Chapters (81)
- Cover
- About the Author
- Dedication
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Fifty-two
- Fifty-three
- Fifty-four
- Fifty-five
- Fifty-six
- Fifty-seven
- Fifty-eight
- Fifty-nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-one
- Sixty-two
- Sixty-three
- Sixty-four
- Sixty-five
- Sixty-six
- Sixty-seven
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Read More
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Follow Merilyn online
- Dedication
As they smoked, they watched the last of the night’s drinkers stagger home, kebabs in hand. The cool night air was a welcome relief after the day’s heat, and as clouds began to gather, the air became lighter.
‘What do you think about the whole Mary thing?’ Nell asked her. ‘Is she our chief suspect?’
Carla didn’t know and in truth, right then she didn’t care.
Nell sighed into the night. ‘I need to get a life, don’t I?’
‘Yeah, you do. Anyone on the horizon?’
‘Nah. Hard to meet people in this job, you know?’ Nell dropped her cigarette into the street below.
‘Have you tried a dating site?’
‘God, no. I’m not really a big sell, am I? Cop, out more hours than I’m in. Drink more than I should, and can’t make a washing machine work for love nor money.’
Carla laughed. It felt good. Made her feel lighter. ‘You’re gorgeous, Nell. You’d have everyone queuing up in a second.’
Nell lit another cigarette. ‘Well, you’re pretty hot yourself. I mean that in a totally platonic way, of course.’
Carla grinned. ‘Of course.’ She accepted the cigarette Nell held out for her and took a mouthful of wine.
‘I’m sorry if I’ve been a nightmare to work with.’
Carla looked up, surprised. ‘You’ve not.’
‘Yeah, I have, a little. Well, sometimes more than a little.’ Nell held up her forearm, street light catching the lines of hot pink skin. ‘Seems I haven’t put the attack to bed in quite the way I’d hoped I had.’
Carla looked at the scars. She knew about the attack, they all did; the whole station had been on alert for days until they knew she would survive.
‘I’m sorry the analyst missed the knife.’
Nell covered her arm. ‘Wasn’t your fault. And I’m sorry if I took it out on you.’
They sat for a while, backs against the window frame. Carla closed her eyes. She felt good. Maybe it was going to be OK. Being without Baz. She yawned and thought of Mary. Where was she now? Out there somewhere, in Oxford, but how were they going to find her if she’d disappeared without a trace?
‘No one just disappears,’ she said.
‘What?’
‘If it is Mary from the beach, we need an address, a telephone number, a car licence plate, just something to start us off. It’s got to be there, we just haven’t looked hard enough yet.’
Nell smiled.
‘What?’
‘Even in the midst of heartache, you remain an analyst first.’ She leaned in and pointed her empty glass at Carla. ‘Remember that, Brown.’ Then she pulled back. ‘Now to bed. We have a woman to find in the morning and I’ve a feeling this one’s going to be a challenge, even for you.’