‘Sorry.’
‘Honestly, it’s fine,’ she said, laughing. ‘I remember when I used to like Mark. Someone local, is it?’
‘Yeah. Very local, actually. As in about-ten-houses-further-down-Northgate local.’
Caroline glanced across at Sara. She was a difficult person to read, but she’d been subdued for days anyway, and Aidan was clearly distracted and mentally elsewhere. Besides which, the couple of pints of Tiger Caroline’d sunk had loosened her up a little.
‘Well why not join us?’ she said, the issue of getting to know her team personally being very much on her mind. It’d be good to meet Aidan’s new man from the off.
‘Are you sure?’ Aidan asked, as if trying to work out if the offer was genuine.
‘Of course,’ Caroline replied. ‘The more the merrier.’
‘Are you going away anywhere this year, sir?’ Sara asked Derek Arnold, in a clear attempt to change the conversation.
‘Well, my wife and I tend to go to St Lucia for a couple of weeks. There’s a nice little spot we’ve been to a few times.’
‘Christ, I bet you wish you were joining Aidan in Cornwall, don’t you?’ Caroline said, chuckling.
Arnold smiled. ‘Not much, no.’
‘Colour me jealous,’ Dexter said. ‘I was hoping to do a pilgrimage to Antigua this year, but I can’t see that happening.’
‘You still got family there?’ Arnold asked.
‘Some. Fairly distant ones I’ve either never met or only met once as a child. We went back once in the holidays when I was at school. I was probably only about six, so I barely remember it, but I remember thinking it was my idea of paradise. It’s definitely made holidays since feel much more mundane.’
All the talk of holidays made Caroline yearn to get away. Mark and the boys needed it just as much as she did, especially after the last year or two. She told herself she’d pop into Savvi Travel on the high street over the weekend and pick up some details. She could never get on with booking holidays over the internet. She was sure it was great if you knew exactly where and when you wanted to go, but travel websites didn’t seem to cope well with searches like ‘somewhere hot, with a swimming pool, in the next twelve months’.
Twenty minutes later, and with the glasses almost empty, Caroline had completely forgotten that Aidan’s new boyfriend was due to join them. So she was more than a little surprised when the door opened and a stunning young woman came in, looked around, spotted Aidan and walked straight over.
Aidan stood and kissed her on the cheek, putting his arm around her. ‘Guys, this is Keira. Caroline, my DI. Dex and Sara. And I’m not quite sure whether I’m meant to call you sir, or...’
‘Derek’s more than fine in the pub,’ Arnold said, smiling, oblivious to everything that had been said between Aidan, Sara and Caroline. ‘Pleasure to meet you, Keira.’
Caroline looked over at Sara, whose demeanour had dropped several octaves, despite trying to put a brave face on it.
‘Do you want a drink?’ Aidan asked Keira, gesturing towards the bar.
‘It’s alright. It’s my round,’ Caroline said. ‘Actually, Aidan, you can give me a hand.’
They went over to the bar and placed their order.
‘She seems nice,’ Caroline said.
‘She is, yeah.’
‘And female.’
Aidan looked at her for a moment. ‘Uh, yes. Well spotted.’
‘So, you’re...’
‘Bisexual. Yes. Is that an issue?’
‘No. No, of course not. Obviously not. I mean, I thought you were gay, so, you know.’
‘Sorry to disappoint,’ Aidan quipped, smiling.
Caroline turned her head towards their table. Keira was proving to be as bright and bubbly as she’d first seemed and was already holding court, engaging the others as she told a witty anecdote. Caroline could see Sara was trying to be polite and friendly, but there was something else underneath. Disappointment. Confusion. Regret.
‘Is something up?’ Aidan asked.
‘No. No, nothing at all,’ Caroline replied, taking her card from her purse. ‘All good.’
‘With Sara, I mean. She’s been a bit funny recently.’
Caroline tried to think of the best way to answer. ‘I think she’s alright. I’ve not asked.’
‘I have,’ Aidan replied. ‘She said she was fine, but I don’t believe her. Might be worth keeping an eye on her.’
‘Yeah,’ Caroline said, looking back over at Sara. ‘Yeah, I will.’
‘I’ve got a lot of time for her. She’s a nice girl.’
‘Sara?’
‘Yeah. Why, do you not think so?’
‘Of course. Yes, sorry, no, that’s not what I meant. Sorry.’
Aidan gave her an odd look. ‘I don’t know how confused I’m meant to be right now, but I think I’d score pretty highly.’
Me too, Caroline thought.
They carried the drinks back and set them down on the table. As Aidan sat next to Keira and put his arm round her, Sara shuffled uncomfortably.
‘Back in a sec,’ she said. ‘Just got to nip to the loo.’
Caroline watched her leave, gave it a moment or two, then stood up too. ‘Actually, I should probably go as well, before I get too comfy.’
With the others seemingly oblivious, she followed Sara to the ladies’, where she found her leaning on a sink, looking in the mirror.
‘I know this probably doesn’t help,’ Caroline said, ‘but I didn’t know either. I just assumed… Well, you know.’
‘I knew I should’ve just come out and asked him.’
‘I dunno, Sara. They could’ve known each other a while for all we know. It might not’ve made a difference.’
Sara shook her head. ‘Less than a week. While you were at the bar she made a point of telling us what a “whirlwind romance” it’d been.’
Caroline looked at her, wishing she could do something to make her feel better. She’d never seen Sara quite so upset or annoyed. ‘If it means anything, these sorts of things tend to fizzle out just as quickly as they started. The slow burners are the long lasters, as they say.’
‘I doubt that. I mean, look at her. She’s perfect for him. She’s bright, she’s bubbly, she’s bloody stunning. It’s probably a good
