‘I’m not saying I didn’t break one or two speed limits once I got past the hold-up. Sorry, I shouldn’t be confessing that to a police officer, should I?’
‘I just went off duty.’
‘I feel guilty, asking you to see me at the drop of a hat.’
‘All part of the service.’ Too glib a response, she chided herself even as she spoke. He had this knack of making her say the first thing that came into her head.
‘What would you like to drink?’
She asked for a lemonade, and watched him at the bar. Saw the barmaid study him curiously. They exchanged a few words before Daniel returned with two soft drinks.
‘The girl recognised you from your TV series,’ Hannah said. ‘Am I right?’
‘She’s a first-year history student working in her vacation, and you’re a good detective,’ he said. ‘I wrote books that sold thousands and nobody ever stopped me in the street. I never realised the reach of television until I appeared on the box.’
Another reminder that, if people saw the two of them together, Daniel’s fame meant that word would soon get around. Hannah leant back in the booth. Another reason to be paranoid.
‘I suppose you’re wondering why I wanted to see you.’
She resisted a flirtatious reply. ‘Take your time.’ His brow furrowed and he looked down, as if mesmerised by the pattern of the wood grain in the table that separated them.
‘Stuart Wagg has disappeared.’
‘Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?’ he muttered ten minutes later.
‘No,’ she murmured. ‘You did the right thing, telling me. But don’t worry about Louise. If she did lash out at Wagg in a moment of temper, I’m sure she didn’t do him much damage. You said yourself that there was no sign of blood in his kitchen and the scissors aren’t stained.’
‘That doesn’t mean he isn’t seriously injured.’
‘Your theory is that he staggered off before slumping unconscious?’
‘Or bleeding to death.’
‘You didn’t see him lying in a heap in the grounds of Crag Gill.’
‘He could be sprawled in some dark corner. I wasn’t equipped to carry out a fingertip search of an acre of land in the dark.’
‘My guess is, he set off to walk the fells the minute Louise ran off.’
‘Leaving his house unlocked?’
‘Marc forgot to lock up our new house only a fortnight before Christmas. I wasn’t impressed, given that Cumbria Constabulary is spending a fortune on a campaign against burglary and sneak theft. But we all make mistakes. Crag Gill has a sophisticated security system. He wasn’t to know there would be a power cut.’
‘He’s a lawyer. Cautious by nature.’
‘You should meet some of the lawyers I know. Did you check whether his car was still in the garage?’
He coloured slightly. Hannah supposed he was chastising himself for overlooking the obvious.
‘He drives an Aston Martin DBS. Marc says it gives him whiplash just to look at it. If he’s dead, the likeliest cause is that he took a bend too fast and wasn’t as lucky as your sister when she crashed.’
‘OK, Hannah. You win. I wasn’t thinking straight.’ She allowed herself a smile. ‘Your secret is safe with me. You’ve done Wagg a favour by shutting up after him. If the worst that happens is that he’s locked out because he forgot to take his keys when he stormed off, he’ll have nothing to complain about.’
‘I can’t help wondering-’
‘One thing lawyers obsess over is proof. Where’s the proof that your sister harmed Stuart Wagg? There isn’t a shred of evidence. If she hadn’t opened her heart while she was in a state of distress about the way Wagg treated her, nobody would be any the wiser. If anything has happened to him, you can bet it’s because he’s missed his footing on a rocky path up the Langdale Pikes.’
‘Sorry to have wasted your time.’
‘Hey, you haven’t wasted my time.’ She leant across the table. ‘I felt rotten for not keeping in touch while you were in the States. I should have answered your last email.’
‘You work all hours. I wasn’t surprised.’
‘I meant to get back to you. When Louise told me you’d arrived home, I wondered if we could meet up.’
‘And thanks to Stuart Wagg, we managed it.’
‘Can I get you another drink?’
‘Marc will wonder what’s happened to you.’
‘Trust me, the only thing he’ll wonder about is which ready meal to sling in the microwave. I rang to let him know I’d be late. Comes with the territory, when you’re with a police officer. He’s accustomed to it.’
‘You’ve been together a long time.’
It was on the tip of her tongue to say, ‘Yeah, feels like it.’
But there must be a limit to disloyalty. Prudence — and nosiness — dictated a change of topic.
‘So, Miranda is back in the big city?’
‘We spoke the other day. But she wasn’t suited to the pace of life in the Lakes. You can take the girl out of London, but you can’t take London out of the girl.’
‘Pity.’
‘I’m glad she persuaded me that Tarn Cottage was a good buy. Even without her around, it suits me. Even in the dead of winter, Tarn Fold seems like paradise. The stillness, the peace. To wake up in the morning and hear… nothing.’
‘Not tempted to stay in America?’
He shook his head. ‘I love the States, but I’d never move there permanently. I can’t scrub the Lakes out of my system. And I don’t want to.’
‘So, we’ll be seeing more of you around here from now on?’
‘’Fraid so.’
For a few moments neither of them spoke. She finished her drink, savouring the tang of lemon.
‘I want to visit Marc’s shop. I’m working on this book about the history of murder.’
‘Murder?’ She leant forward. ‘Tell me more.’
He explained about
‘He’ll love that, he fancies himself as a book detective.’ She put down her glass. ‘Actually, I forgot to mention that I was seeing you this evening.’
Their eyes met. She wasn’t sure if he gave a slight nod, or if her imagination was running riot.
‘I still feel guilty.’ He leant back. ‘Wrecking your evening after you’ve been slogging down the mean streets all day.’
‘The mean streets of Kendal?’ She grinned. ‘Well, it ain’t LA, that’s for sure. It’s not even as gritty as Lancaster. As for this evening, it’s been great to catch up. Tomorrow, I’ll ask someone to check up on Stuart Wagg. Once we know for certain he’s alive and kicking, we can all breathe again, eh?’
‘What if he makes a complaint to the police?’
‘It’s a domestic, his word against hers.’
‘But she told me, and I told you.’
‘This isn’t an official conversation. Didn’t we agree it was off the record? And since you asked, I wouldn’t mind another drink.’
His brow was still furrowed, but he mustered a grin.
‘Lemonade, or something stronger?’
She gave him a direct look.
‘Lemonade would be best, I think.’
Driving back to Undercrag, Hannah asked herself if Daniel’s darkest fears might be realised. No question, Louise was highly strung. Hannah recalled conversations with Ben Kind, as he fretted over the destruction of his relationship with his daughter. Louise had sided with her mother after his desertion, and he’d never seen her again. He’d gone to his grave regretting his betrayal of his little girl, but Hannah suspected there were two sides to the
