'What was it?'
'He said for you to start with the man in the mirror.'
'What's that mean?'
'I don't know, Jack. That's all he said. Then he hung up.'
Delaney clenched his fist. 'Do you have any idea what he did to that woman?'
'They haven't given me any details, no.'
'I find out you're jerking me around and I am going to visit vengeance on you like a biblical fucking angel.'
'Great line. Can I use that?'
Delaney spoke quietly but furiously. 'Do you believe me, when I say it?'
'All right, yes. I believe you. You're the arch-fucking-angel of death and justice. I'm telling you what he's told me. What more do you want me to do?'
'I'll let you know.' Delaney cut the call off. He quickly scrolled to Kate's number once more and snapped the phone angrily shut when it cut into her answerphone yet again. Where the bloody hell was she?
Sally walked over to him, holding out his burger. Delaney snatched it off her, took one look at it and threw it in the bin.
'Oi!' Roy shouted out.
Delaney glared up at him. 'Not now, all right?' He turned to Sally. 'Come on.'
'Where are we going?'
If Sally was hoping for further enlightenment, it wasn't forthcoming as Delaney was already striding quickly away.
Roy leaned over the counter and called after him. 'Jack Delaney. International man of misery!' He grinned, pleased with himself, then went back to reading his Peter F. Hamilton.
In Hampstead village itself, a light drizzle had started. And the wind made the air far colder than it should have been for the time of year. Kate locked her car door then pulled her coat tighter to herself, hugging her arms around her body as she walked, head down, across the road.
She walked up to the front door but hesitated before knocking on it. She had taken the morning off to meet with this woman, but now that it came to it, she wasn't sure she could go through with it.
After she had left Delaney the previous night, she had stood outside the Holly Bush for a moment or two, furious and hurt. Really hurt and hating herself for it. She couldn't face being alone that night so she had flagged down a passing cab and told the driver to take her out of Hampstead. When he had asked her where to go she honestly had no idea, but then told him to take her to Highgate. She needed a friend. But at her friend's front door she had hesitated, wanting to ring the bell but fearing conversation. Knowing that if she articulated her thoughts she would break down in tears. The rain had started falling in earnest when Kate finally pushed the doorbell. The chimes sounded as though from a different world. A world of comfort and security. A world that Kate felt as though she had been ripped away from and was not sure she would ever find her way back to.
The door had opened and it had been like standing in front of an open fire after a winter storm.
'For God's sake, Kate! How long have you been out there? You look like a drowned rat.'
Kate had stumbled in and Jane had put her strong arms around her, stroking her wet hair as the tears poured down Kate's cheeks and she sobbed like a hurt child.
The next morning, back in Hampstead village at another front door, Kate took a deep breath and willed her finger forward, knowing if she pushed the
