They had set aside a couple of tables at the reception for Sarah and Aaron’s work friends, but it surprised her that Simon had shown up. Then again, Sarah had said he came to group events.

Since she had to cross the hall to get to her room and she couldn’t pretend not to have seen someone she’d been making a beeline towards only seconds before she walked up to him and said, ‘Hello, Simon.’

He jumped and spun around and his eyes widened as he realised who was speaking.

‘D…D.I—’

‘Jaq, just call me Jaq. I’d appreciate if you don’t tell everybody what I do for a living.’

‘Oh… sure.’

Simon’s eyes darted left and right, apparently assimilating the fact that they were alone, aside from the pair working at the hotel reception desk.

‘What were you reading?’ Jaq asked, because she couldn’t actually think of anything else to say.

‘It’s the itinerary for the wedding.’

‘Ah… working out what to do next, huh?’

‘Actually… when to go home.’

‘You aren’t staying over?’

One of the perks of having the wedding at a hotel was that the guests could stay up as late as they liked and drink as much as they wanted without having to worry about driving home.

‘I’m getting a lift back with Liz.’ Simon froze at the mention of her name, then he hurried on, ‘Liz and her boyfriend, since he lives near me.’

‘Oh, well, that’s handy.’

Simon clasped his right wrist with his left hand. It didn’t completely still the tremors and made Jaq feel guilty that Simon was so uncomfortable in her presence. Suspicion of why he might be so jumpy followed immediately after.

Simon nodded, apparently also at a loss for what else to say.

‘I’m going to change out of this dress,’ Jaq said, by way of taking her leave, then added, ‘God only knows what Sarah was thinking, putting us in these hideous things. And she calls herself a designer.’

To her surprise, Simon said, ‘It was probably deliberate.’

‘What? Deliberate? Why?’

‘People are drawn to beauty. Making all of you bridesmaids look frumpy, accentuated her beauty and drew everybody’s eyes to her.’

‘The cunning little so and so.’ Jaq was impressed by Sarah’s ingenuity and Simon’s perception. ‘I suppose it takes a designer to understand what another designer is doing. If I ever get married, I’m going to make Sarah wear the frumpiest dress I can find. It would only be fair.’

Simon blinked at her, apparently at a loss for something to say, when the ballroom doors swung open with a bang. Loud music and the roar of a cheerful crowd filled the room and Rob stalked out, holding a bottle of champagne by the neck.

‘There you are,’ he said grinning, ‘playing hard to get!’

‘I was going to change my dress,’ Jaq said.

‘I can come with and help you,’ Rob said, grinning and leaning forward, much too close.

Jaq noted a quiver of disgust flicker across Simon’s face and disappear. She wondered what exactly it was that had repulsed him.

‘Who’s this?’ Rob said, just noticing that Jaq wasn’t alone. ‘Huh? Simon!’

‘Hi Rob,’ Simon said and now he looked quite calm, neutral and at ease.

‘Our genius designer,’ Rob said, throwing his arm around Simon’s shoulders. ‘This man makes it so easy to sign up customers. He’s made me a fortune,’ Rob said, sinking his voice to a conspiratorial whisper as he winked at Jaq.

‘Then maybe you should share your commission,’ Simon said as he removed Rob’s tightly wrapped arm.

Rob laughed as if he’d just heard a hilarious joke.

‘Perks of the job, my friend. You want in you’d have to join Sales.’

‘Who would do your designing for you then?’

Jaq watched the exchange with interest. Simon was a different person around Rob. More at ease than when it was just the two of them and, weirdly, it felt like he had the upper hand. This bigger, beefier, more outwardly self assured, apparently higher earning man seemed less significant compared to his quiet counterpart.

‘I’d better go back to the party and see if I can find Liz and her boyfriend,’ Simon said, giving Jaq and Rob a nod of farewell.

‘I’ll stay and keep Jaq company,’ Rob said, unfortunately remembering what she planned to do and apparently set on following her to her room.

‘No, you go back to the party too,’ Jaq said, holding up her hand in a blocking sign that the police always used to stop people in their track, along with an absolutely commanding tone to her voice.

Rob wasn’t drunk, but certainly heading that way fast. He took a swig from the champagne bottle, wiped his mouth and grinned at Jaq.

‘Okay, I’ll be waiting. You at least owe me another dance.’

Jaq nodded, noting that Simon was still there, and didn’t move as Rob made his way back to the ballroom singing along at the top of his lungs to the pop song that was blaring out.

‘Is there something you wanted to say?’ Jaq asked, because Simon was back to looking dubious.

Was she really that uncomfortable for him?

‘That case,’ Simon said, checking nobody was close enough to hear. It would have been hard to do so, because Rob hadn’t bothered to close the doors on his way back to the party.

‘The missing boy?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What about it?’

‘You probably already picked up on it, but it’s been bothering me,’ Simon said, his voice dropping so low that Jaq could barely hear him over the noise.

‘What’s been bothering you?’ Jaq asked, which made Simon give a start and step back.

‘That kid, Gazza… he gave me the impression, just for a moment, that there was somebody else behind what they did.’

Jaq hadn’t picked up on anything like that, and she felt a tingle of alarm. Whether it was because of the case or Simon, she couldn’t tell.

‘What gave you that idea?’

‘Didn’t you record the meeting I had with him?’

‘We did, of course,’ Jaq said, guiltily aware she’d watched the recording over and over again to see what she made of Simon, rather than thinking about what Gazza had said.

‘Maybe watch it again,’ Simon said, nodded and hurried away.

Jaq contemplated grabbing him and making him explain, but now wasn’t the right time. So she filed it into her to do list and went to get changed.

***

A couple of routine weeks made Simon feel that life was finally getting back to normal. He’d even stopped taking the sedatives Dr Nobel had prescribed when his doorbell went off in a single sustained burst. It sent a shock wave of fright through him and he glanced up at his kitchen clock: 8 pm.

His hands started shaking in anticipation and it got worse as he checked the entry phone and saw D.I. Burnham at the door. What the hell did she want?

‘Yes?’

Simon examined her flickering image like a hawk. She looked like she was alone.

‘Sorry to bother you so late, but I came to apologise. Properly this time.’

‘No helping the police with their enquiries again?’

Simon was getting jumpier. What if the rest of the police mob was just waiting around the corner?

‘I’m here in a private capacity. Well, partly work related, since I’m apologising for my behaviour as a detective. But also—’

Simon didn’t want what Jaq was saying to be overheard by the neighbours, so he opened the door.

‘Thank you.’ Jaq flashed him a terrifyingly friendly smile as she stepped into his flat. She held up a black plastic bag and said, ‘I brought food and drink by way of payment.’

‘I just lost my appetite,’ Simon said as he trailed reluctantly along behind Jaq.

She put the bag of food on his dining room table and made for the kitchen, where she rummaged about for plates, cutlery and a couple of pint glasses.

‘Perfect,’ she said as she unslung her bag, hooked it on the chair next to her and sat down. ‘Do you like curry, Simon?’ He nodded, which got him another beaming smile. ‘You can’t go wrong with a curry, can you? I got something medium hot as I wasn’t sure what you can handle.’

Simon felt like his life had turned surreal. He’d never had a visitor. Not once in the five years he’d lived in this flat and now this woman was here for a second time. On top of that, he’d never had a meal with just one other person in his entire adult life.

He’d been super careful not to, especially with a woman. Come to think of it, all his care had come to nothing just because somebody he knew had vanished. It made him jumpy.

‘What… what do you want?’ he asked as he sat down opposite Jaq.

Jaq eased the covers off the three aluminium foil containers, releasing the scent of curry and basmati rice into the flat.

‘Ah yes, that. Sorry, I haven’t eaten in days and now I’m starving.’

‘You haven’t eaten in days? Why not?’

‘Another big case. The joys of being in a serious crimes division in a big city. We’ve just wrapped everything up,’ Jaq said, emptying exactly half of the rice onto her plate, and then putting a couple of large spoonfuls of the two curries on either side. One was a rich red, the other a creamy yellow. ‘Do you want to hear about the case?’

‘Your case?’ Simon felt like the night was getting more and more peculiar, but not in a good way. ‘Why would you tell me?’

‘I don’t know,’ Jaq said with a sigh as she took a massive mouthful of curry and rice. ‘Maybe because you’d understand. Usually I go home to my empty flat and have nobody to decompress to. Not that my colleagues with partners can say much to their other halves, either. There’s confidentiality, legal requirements and—’

‘If there’s confidentiality and legal requirements, then you shouldn’t be saying anything to me, anyway.’

‘I have to be careful, yes, but there are some things I can say, like I’m feeling shitty, or it’s been very stressful. And I can talk about what’s already in the public record. That’s when not burdening your loved ones with horrors they’re better off not hearing about comes into play. Even so, somebody to have a little cry with occasionally would be nice.’

‘A little cry?’

Simon was trying to understand what on earth this had to do with him? Maybe Sarah had been encouraging Jaq to get together with him, too.

‘I really, really don’t want to know about your work.’

‘Why not?’ Jaq said, giving Simon her coldest police interrogator stare.

At least, that was how it felt to him.

‘It’s… triggering,’ he said and hoped he could leave it at that.

Jaq stared at him for a moment, considering.

‘Ok, fair enough, I can understand that. It isn’t all fun and games after all.’

Now that Simon looked at Jaq properly, she was grey with exhaustion with dark smudges under her eyes. For the first time, he felt bad for her.

‘Maybe you should change jobs.’

‘Then who would catch the bad guys?’ Jaq gave a tired smile, that was somehow vulnerable and unnerved Simon even more. ‘Anyway, that’s not why I’m here.’

‘You said you came to apologise, but you’ve already done that.’

‘Ah, yeah, I owe you an apology for the apology, too. I don’t know what I was thinking showing up rat-arsed. Sarah said you were really uncomfortable about it, which was the last thing I intended. I am sorry. Hence the proper sober apology now. I’d have done it sooner, but what with the wedding and that new case, I’ve not had a free moment.’

‘It’s alright.’