"I'm sorry," he said. She shot him an enquiring look. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for the two of you today."
Alice glanced away from him. For a second, he thought she was angry, but then she shifted in her seat, pushing the chair away from the table to enable her to sit facing him. She put her hands in his and smiled, an expression that belied the pain she was clearly bearing.
"I know you're here for us Tom, I do. And what you do is important. Please don't ever feel you have to choose between us."
The doorbell sounded. Tom glanced at the clock. It was late for a house call. The familiar thud came from upstairs as Russell hopped from Alice's bed to come and investigate. Alice glanced in the direction of the hall and made to stand, but he tapped the back of her hand.
"Stay here. I'll get it."
Taking a deep breath, he wondered if the local press had got wind of Alice's connection to the murdered man in Cley. It was only a matter of time until they did so and then came hunting for a story or two. Preparing to bat away the questions, he saw several figures through the obscured glass set within the front door. Probably a cameraman as well.
He unlocked the door and pulled it open. He was surprised.
"Hi Tom."
Something in her tone unnerved him. Glancing to Tamara's left, Cassie smiled a greeting, but it was half-hearted at best.
"Hi. What's going on?"
Only now did he see the uniformed patrol car parked outside on the street with two officers sitting inside watching the exchange. Tamara handed him a folded sheet of A4 paper.
"I'm sorry to have to do this, Tom," she said.
He unfolded the paper. It was a search warrant.
"Who is it?" he heard Alice ask from behind. Tom turned side on to the door, allowing her to see past him. Cassie looked down whereas Tamara acknowledged Alice with an embarrassed smile. Behind them, the uniformed officers got out of the car and made their way towards the house.
"We need to speak with Alice," Tamara said.
"Now? Are you kidding?" Tom asked.
Tamara shook her head, frowning. "I'm sorry. It can't wait." She stepped past him and into the hall. Cassie met his eye. An entire verbal exchange passed between them in his reading of her expression.
"What's this about?" Alice asked, fear edging into her tone. She looked to him for an explanation, but he didn't have one.
"We need you to come with us to the station, Alice," Tamara said.
"Why?"
"I think it's for the best if we talk about it at the station."
"Tom?" Alice asked, clearly scared, her face dropping as her eyes jumped from person to person, settling on him. He stood in silence, aware he was open-mouthed. "Am I… am I under arrest?"
"I'd rather not arrest you," Tamara said, glancing between her and Tom. "I'd prefer it if you came with us voluntarily."
"But… Saffy—"
"But I will arrest you if I have to," Tamara said sternly. Alice's eyes shot across to Tom, panic-stricken.
"It'll be okay," he said, holding his hands up to try and reassure her. "I'll be here with Saffy… and I'm sure this has all been a mistake or something. It'll all be ironed out."
Cassie looked at him and he recognised doubt in her expression.
"We'll also need to search the property," Tamara said, returning to her professional persona. Tom sensed this made her feel more comfortable. She met his eye but didn't say anything else as she placed a hand on Alice's upper arm and encouraged her to leave the house with her. They walked to the door, Tom forcing a reassuring smile.
"Mummy?"
They turned to see Saffy standing at the top of the stairs with her favourite cuddly toy, Mr Polar Bear, dangling by his arm from her left hand, Russell sitting obediently at her feet. Alice looked at Tamara despairingly. Tamara bit the outside of her lower lip and nodded almost imperceptibly. Alice calmly made her way up the stairs. Tom glared at Tamara.
"Don't look at me like that, Tom," she said quietly, so only the two of them could hear.
She made room for the uniformed constables to pass between them as they set about the search routine. Only two of them acknowledged Tom as they came past. All three carried awkward expressions. Cassie came alongside Tom.
"I've spoken with them all," she said. "They'll be thorough but respectful. You'll not know they've been here. I promise."
Tom cast a glance to the top of the stairs where Alice was attempting to calm a tearful eight-year-old, explaining that she wouldn't be long. "You reckon?" he said.
Cassie stepped past him without another word, taking the officers aside to issue instructions. Tom turned back to Tamara.
"We have no choice, Tom."
"Like this?" he hissed, trying hard to check himself as a constable looked over. "Did you have to do it like this?"
Tamara looked away and then back again, lowering her voice to a whisper. "We have two witnesses who put Alice at the scene around the confirmed time of death."
Tom shook his head forcefully. "No. No, I'm not buying that—"
"It's a solid lead, Tom. We have to follow it—"
"Yeah, tell it to someone who's interested!"
He pushed past her, mounting the bottom tread of the stairs as Alice descended. He took her hand, pulling her into him. She placed her head on his shoulder and he buried himself into her hair, whispering into her ear. No one else could see the action, he made sure of that. "This will be over soon. Tell the truth and everything will be fine."
She withdrew from him, wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and keeping her back to Saffy, so that she wouldn't see. "Look after her," she whispered.
"I will, promise. I love you."
She sniffed hard, passing him and heading to the door where Tamara waited. Tom didn't look back. Instead, he climbed the stairs and scooped Saffy up into his arms, holding her
