‘I’ll move out as soon as I can, if that’s OK. I can’t bury myself here any longer. For me the Lakes will always mean me and you, and if we aren’t to stay together … as for my half-share, we can sort things out when it suits you. No panic. I’ve decided against buying the flat in Greenwich, so I won’t be desperate for cash.’
‘You’ll be moving in with Ethan?’
‘When he suggested it, I said no way. You know something? I actually said I would be sticking with you, trying to make things work between us. He and I had a blazing row, actually. A hundred times worse than when you and me fell out. Sparks fly off the two of us when we’re together, it’s a weird relationship. But right now it feels like what I need. While you were out this afternoon, he called me to apologise for putting me under too much pressure too soon. Things seemed to fall into place while he was talking, I couldn’t fight my feelings one moment longer. Though if you’d changed your mind about sharing the flat … well, it might have been different.’
The pianist was humming as he played that song about people who need people. The luckiest people in the world. Daniel fixed the man with a stare, willing him to stop.
‘Thanks for telling me.’
She tapped her saucer with a teaspoon, a little clink of irritation. ‘You’re taking this in a very English way. No ranting, no raving. If we don’t watch out, we’ll finish up acting like characters in a 1940s film.’
‘You’d rather I scream blue murder?’
She ventured a smile. ‘If I were a suspicious soul, I might wonder if I’ve played into your hands. Is that what’s going through your mind? I’ve got rid of the needy cow, I’ve won back my freedom?’
He shook his head. ‘At this precise moment, my mind is a vast empty void.’
‘Louise will be thrilled. She really can’t stand me.’
‘Feeling’s mutual, isn’t it?’
‘Louise is so protective of you, I’ll never measure up. I can understand why, after what happened to Aimee. You were a wreck, you kept blaming yourself, even though it wasn’t your fault she jumped from the tower. All I wanted was to make things better for you.’
God, she was so gorgeous. That flawless skin. Those eyes.
‘And you did.’
The familiar dreamy look spread across her face. She’d battled through the worst of the conversation, she was ready to rework it, as any good journalist might revise a piece of hasty writing to smooth out the flaws. Create a better impression.
‘Whatever you may think, I fell head over heels in love with the Lakes, same as with you. And I don’t regret it, please don’t imagine I do. But it’s a mistake to become infatuated with a place. When I was a kid, I used to love our holidays in Great Yarmouth. When my parents took me there one winter week-end, with the amusements shut up and a gale howling in from the sea, it wasn’t the same. The spell was broken forever and I’ve never gone back since.’
He intercepted the glance of the Scouse waiter, who was running his eye over Miranda’s curves, and asked for the bill. ‘So it’s back to London for good tomorrow?’
She nodded. ‘I’ll take as many of my things as I can carry. The rest I can leave till I’ve moved in with Ethan. I suppose you’re still determined to stick it out here?’
Why did she have to make it sound like a feat of endurance? ‘Me, I’m still infatuated.’
‘But with the Lakes, not with me.’ She sighed. ‘That’s the difference, Daniel. The countryside just doesn’t do it for me, I need the excitement of city life. Sheepdog trials and ivy-clad coaching inns are fine, but they aren’t enough. For me, something always needs to be happening.’
Pictures flickered in his mind. Strap-hanging commuters on the London Underground, glancing nervously at their fellow passengers’ rucksacks. Drunken youths smashing bottles outside the doors of a nightclub and pissing in shop doorways. Oxford dons bickering at High Table.
‘Depends on what you want to happen, I guess.’
At five to eight, Les put his head round the door and said, ‘Time to go home.’
Hannah pulled her eyes away from the columns of figures on the spreadsheet on her screen. She’d spent the last hour juggling overtime and equipment budgets. Even in cold case work, making the numbers add up was more of a challenge for a DCI than detecting crime.
‘See you tomorrow.’
‘I meant time for you to go home,’ he said, stepping into her room. ‘For me, it doesn’t matter. Long hours are good, it’s like the old days, takes me out of myself. It’s different for you. Don’t make the mistake I made.’
‘What was that?’
‘Forgetting that there’s someone waiting for you at home.’
She felt her cheeks burning. ‘Marc is out visiting a customer in Carlisle this evening. Besides, he knows what the job involves.’
‘And he’s happy about it?’
‘He spends all his time with his books, anyway.’
Les raised bushy eyebrows. ‘I used to say my old lady liked not having me under her feet. She was able to suit herself. Watch trash on telly, natter on the phone to her mates. In the end, it wasn’t enough.’
‘Yeah, well, thanks for the advice.’
‘Don’t be huffy. I know it’s none of my business.’
‘True.’
‘All the same, take heed.’ He turned to go. ‘Goodnight, Hannah.’
She exhaled. ‘Sorry, Les, I don’t mean to …’
‘Listen, you can tell me to piss off, that’s fine. Like I said, it’s nowt to do with me.’
‘I’m not sure I’m doing much good here. I’d feel better trained for this job if I’d trained as an accountant instead of at police college. I’ll pack it in and start fresh tomorrow. We’ll drive over to Coniston together.’
He nodded and lumbered off down the corridor. She checked her on-screen diary before switching off her computer. After Di Venuto’s departure, they’d agreed that even if someone had hired Guy Koenig to kill Emma, Jeremy wasn’t the only candidate. It was a long shot, but there might be some connection between the two bodies buried in the same spot decades apart. The plan was to call on Alban Clough and see what he had to say for himself.
She locked her desk and the door to her office and set off for home. On the CD player, Jimmy Webb crooned about the Wichita lineman. Her mind roamed over the events of the day, but she knew she was too weary to have a hope of making sense of them. Fifteen minutes into the journey, her hands-free phone trilled.
‘It’s Maggie, ma’am.’
Her DC worked out at the gym every other day, but for once she sounded out of breath. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Yes, fine, I’ve just run back to the car. Dave and I were on our way out to a pub in Skelwith Bridge, and as we were approaching Coniston, a fire engine passed us, siren blaring. A couple of miles down the road, we saw why.’
Hannah’s pulse quickened. ‘What’s happened?’
‘It’s Inchmore Hall, ma’am. The building is on fire.’
Brack village was dozing as Daniel drove through on the way back to Tarn Fold. The church clock was chiming, a few lights shone behind curtained windows. Tarn Fell was a dark shapeless mass in the distance and it was impossible to make out where the fells ended and the sky began. Daniel glanced to his left. Miranda was slumped low in the passenger seat, her eyes half-closed; the Chablis had taken hold. He recalled waking some nights and watching her sleep by his side, telling himself how lucky he was to share her life.
‘Hey, you still awake?’
‘Mmmm.’
‘I’ll sleep in the spare room tonight.’
‘No need.’
‘It’s better that way. You have a journey tomorrow and you look knackered.’
Her brow creased, but if tempted to argue, she thought better of it. ‘Suit yourself,’ she murmured.
When they reached the cottage, she said goodnight and dragged her weary body up the stairs. He turned on the gas fire and made himself a mug of hot chocolate. For ten minutes he channel-hopped on the TV, but late-night snooker and a re-run of Friends did not appeal, so he pulled out the bulging carrier bags that he’d borrowed from Sylvia Blacon and started picking through the auction lots. Might as well make a start, see if he could find something to fire his imagination about an aspect of Lakes history that Hattie Costello had not yet done to death.