‘You’re not the only one taking that into consideration, Bish. But you know this team; you think Penny, Gul, or even Phil are going to go home tonight and not spend much of their free time mulling it over? My point is, we’ve hardly stopped to breathe, and as exhaustion creeps in, so mistakes get made. It’s not only better for the case, it’s an issue of wellbeing. We’re asking people to give up their own time to come in over the weekend. Uniforms, too. Let them know you’re aware of this by telling them all to bugger off home now. It’ll do them the power of good – and you, in their eyes.’
Bliss knew his colleague’s heart was in the right place. They couldn’t know for certain that another girl had been abducted, however likely it seemed, and he didn’t expect any of the team to have a restful night. But he had driven his colleagues hard in the past, and experience told him that releasing the valve a little allowed the pressure to dissipate gradually rather than exploding in a single eruption.
Always ready to listen to and accept advice, Bishop weighed up the options and went with Bliss’s suggestion. The relief on the faces of the team was palpable.
Before leaving work, Bliss put in a call to Sandra Bannister. She didn’t pick up, but he neglected to leave a message. He and Chandler walked out to the car park together. ‘You got time for a quick one?’ she asked.
Bliss chuckled. There was a time when his response would have been automatic and obvious. Chandler caught on quickly. ‘No, I don’t mean that, you dirty old sod! That’s never been on the table.’
‘It doesn’t have to be on the table, Pen. Over a desk will do.’
‘Smartarse. All right: it’s never been on offer, and it never will be to the likes of you.’
‘That’s fair enough. Though once again I feel it’s only proper for me to remind you who put their lips on mine that night a few years back and almost snogged the air out of my lungs?’
‘We were pissed, Jimmy. You could have been DCI Edwards, for all I knew.’
‘Now that I would pay good money to see.’
‘Yeah, well you make the most of that memory. It’s never going to happen again.’
He remembered it well. Another of their brief flirtations. He had never been certain how far either of them had been willing to take it, but he suspected that at one time their shared loneliness might have thrown open a door lying slightly ajar. He was glad it had never gone past the point of no return. Chandler was his best friend, and nothing was worth ruining that relationship.
‘All right,’ he said. ‘But no, as much as I’m loath to refuse the offer of a quick pint with you, I have fences to mend at home.’
‘Ah. You and Em all set for a showdown, is that it?’
‘Not my choice. Although I think I passed some sort of test.’
‘You did? Tell me more.’
‘She said she’d come over provided we could talk about us. You can imagine how that went down with me. My first reaction was to try and put it off, but she was insistent: either we got into it or she wouldn’t come. She mentioned compromise or some such nonsense.’
‘And you broke first?’ Chandler’s eyes glinted. ‘I’m impressed, Jimmy. That’s a massive step.’
‘Yeah, but into what? I hate the whole idea of it. When I’m with someone, I don’t want to waste time having conversations like that. I want to enjoy the moment, not sully it with a shitload of soul-searching. Think about it; have you ever known a discussion like that to go well?’
‘It is what mature, loving couples do from time to time.’
‘Really? I mean, I remember having chats like that with Hazel – we spoke about where we were going, getting our own place, marriage, family – so yes, I’m not unfamiliar with the concept. But we were young, our focus was on spending the rest of our lives together and how that would all pan out.’
The lines on Chandler’s forehead grew deeper. ‘Then why are you surprised that Emily wants to have similar conversations with you? I know you went into this relationship reluctantly, but you’re a good couple of months into it now. You and Hazel were young and thought you had your whole lives together, stretching out far into the distance. You and Em are moving towards the other end of the same scale; believe me, Jimmy, she’s wondering if she’s going to grow old alone or with someone else by her side. And she’s asking herself if that person could be you.’
Dusk was deepening, approaching full darkness. It felt like a metaphor for life. His life. Emily’s. He raised his hands. ‘Okay, I understand the importance of the discussion I’m about to have. But why now, when I’m deep into a case and my mind is wrapped up in that? Surely we could have put it off for a few days, maybe a week or so?’
Chandler shook her head as if dealing with a simpleton. ‘Oh, Jimmy. Think about what you said from her perspective. When aren’t you deep into a case? And on the rare occasions you’re not fully immersed, you’re resting, overcoming the fatigue from your illness. There’s never a good time to have that conversation with you, is there? It looks to me as if she has decided enough is enough. Talk or walk, my friend. Talk or walk.’
Bliss had already chosen to talk. And when he arrived home, that’s precisely what he did. She asked him to sit and listen while he put away a bottle of San Miguel, but instead of listening, he began their conversation.
‘Emily, I realise we got this second chance and that at the time it felt like fate
