‘You’re OK,’ he murmured. ‘Thank god you’re OK.’
We were at the police station for several hours giving our statements. Halfway through, Angus Bright had walked into the station and given himself up. The guilt of what he’d done had been too much for him. He’d confessed everything and promised to cooperate and help the police find Grady.
‘How long will you keep Angus in custody for?’ I asked.
‘At least until we have Grady,’ Hoogeveen said. ‘For his own protection as much as anything, though we still have plenty of information to get from him.’
‘Well, since I pretty much solved this case, would you release him to me for a few hours tomorrow so I can interview him and do a photo shoot?’
Hoogeveen looked sideways at me. ‘Normally the answer would be no. But since you single-handedly delivered Harrington to us, I’ll have Bright escorted to you tomorrow morning. There will have to be an officer present at all times, though.’
‘Understood.’
I walked over to Chris and he pulled me into a hug. ‘Thank you so much, Sarah,’ he said into my hair. ‘How can I ever make it up to you?’
I pulled away just before things got awkward. ‘Well, you can give me a full interview and photo shoot tomorrow, no holds barred.’
‘Of course, of course.’ His hands rested on my shoulders. ‘But can I take you out to dinner tonight to thank you properly? I owe you my life.’
I smiled at him. He really was a nice guy, and good looking too. In another time and under different circumstances I might have been tempted. But then the door to the other interrogation room opened and Nick came out, and my stomach flipped over.
‘Thanks for the offer, Chris,’ I said. ‘But I have other plans tonight.’
‘Well, let me know if you change your mind. And thank you, again.’ There were tears in his eyes as I backed away from him to join Nick.
‘He doesn’t give up easily, does he?’ Nick muttered as we walked out of the station together. ‘Even turning on the tears to try to get you into bed.’
‘One of his best mates did just try to kill him,’ I said. ‘You can hardly blame him for being emotional.’
‘I guess that might be me soon, once James has finished with me,’ Nick said.
I didn’t respond. This was the first time the topic had come up since last night, and I still wasn’t sure exactly where we stood. And as for James, what the hell was I going to tell him? He was expecting to move back in with me when I got home. The situation was a mess.
‘Miss Burrowes!’ came Adelita’s voice from behind us. I swung around, grateful for the interruption.
She caught up and held her hand out for me to shake. ‘I just wanted to congratulate you. It seems you didn’t need my help after all.’
‘Well, if you hadn’t answered my call, I’d probably be dead, so you did come in handy.’
‘But you are the one who took all the risks and did all the work. You will be a fine journalist one day.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘One day?’
‘When you have the story ready, let me know and I will give you all the contacts you need to sell it.’
‘Don’t tell me you’ve discovered some ethics? You’re getting soft.’
‘Oh, I will take my share, don’t you worry. Only, considering you saved my life, I will make sure that you and your photographer get your fair share.’
My mouth fell open. ‘So you were going to rip me off!’
‘Perhaps,’ she said. ‘But you did a good job, Miss Burrowes. Maybe we will get the chance to work together again one day.’
And with that, she clickety-clacked off up the street, her suit uncreased despite the trauma it had undergone in the warehouse.
Nick and I walked on. ‘I didn’t run off this morning, you know,’ Nick said after a while. ‘You were asleep when I woke up. I knew you’d want to get going early, so I went out to get us coffee. That Bright character was waiting for me. He cornered me in a side street with a knife and took me to the warehouse. I didn’t have my phone, so I couldn’t even try to call you.’
A pang of guilt gripped me. ‘In that case, you might want to delete your voicemail messages.’
He grinned. ‘Actually, I quite look forward to listening to them. I’m sure you well and truly tore me a new one.’
‘Well, I apologise in advance. Sorry I doubted you.’
‘Can’t blame you. I’ve got form.’
That said it all, really. Still, things felt different between us now. He didn’t seem like the same person he’d been a week ago. Then again, neither did I.
‘How’s your arm?’ Nick asked.
The police had detoured to the hospital before they’d taken us to the station, and thirteen stitches later my forearm was looking a lot more respectable. As for my head, the blow from the gun had given me an impressive lump and an almighty headache, but I was otherwise unharmed.
‘Good as new. Nice uniform, by the way. Suits you.’
The police had furnished Nick with a spare, police issue white shirt, complete with navy Politie patches on the shoulders. It was a little small for him in all the right places and I eyed him hungrily. I was far from immune to a man in uniform.
He grinned down at me and my insides melted like warm chocolate.
‘I could get used to seeing you wearing my T-shirts around the place too,’ he said.
I watched my feet as we
