Hudson hadn’t had a chance to ask what had happened with Archie yesterday and Nadia had left for the day without another word about it. She’d wanted to get away and he understood. She’d been through a lot both in her earlier life and lately with Archie showing up and now with her sister missing. If it was him, he wasn’t sure he’d still be standing after all that. But she was. She was strong, one of the qualities he admired in her. And now he understood her desire to move on. He still wished she’d told him about her family, but he got what it was like to feel the need to keep some things to yourself.
And today, as much as he wanted to talk to Nadia after she’d opened up to him, and especially now the official confirmation had come through that the young woman who’d died was Lena’s mother, he had pressing issues of his own to deal with.
Yesterday, he’d called Lucinda to discuss what had happened with Beau. The call hadn’t lasted long; she’d had another meeting. She’d told him they’d talk more later.
And now here she was pulling into one of the spaces at the airbase when Hudson was working and Beau, having finished school for the day, was here again as agreed. Beau had workedon his written apology as soon as he arrived and Hudson would go through it later. In the meantime, Beau was vacuuming the inside of the rapid response vehicle.
‘You could’ve just called me,’ he said, opening her car door for her. He’d gone outside to bring in the bag of rubbish Beau had cleared from the vehicle and which was in danger of blowing away: a fact his son hadn’t noticed.
She sighed. ‘We’d only argue.’
‘Why would we argue?’
‘You know I’m taking Beau and Carys to see a movie this afternoon and then for dinner. And I knew if I called rather than coming here, you’d insist Beau couldn’t go, because he was doing this instead.’
‘It’s important he learns a lesson.’
‘I know that; don’t you think I realise this was a close call? It’s a good job Conrad heard and not another figure of authority.’ She paused, presumably waiting for him to say something about her new boyfriend, but he was keeping his mouth firmly shut. He didn’t have the energy, especially when he was at work.
‘So, can I take Beau to the movies and for dinner?’
It was on the calendar, prearranged, and he hated it when she forgot a schedule, but things had changed. ‘What’s that teaching him? That he gets rewarded for doing something wrong?’
‘He’s been going to school when he should, he’s working hard in lessons and he has been working hard here, Hudson. Give him a bit of a break.’
He hated to admit that she had a point. Beau had improved a lot compared to how he’d been behaving since their separation.
She leaned on the top of her car door and watched him retrieve the bag with the rubbish. ‘You can’t keep him doing this indefinitely.’
‘It’s better than a hefty fine or a prison sentence.’
She laughed. ‘Bit dramatic.’
‘So Conrad didn’t tell you what the punishment could be for a hoax call to the emergency services?’
‘Of course he did; he was very nice about Beau actually. You should be thanking him. Like I said, it was lucky nobody else?—’
‘Overheard,’ he finished for her. ‘So you said.’ He went over to the big bin outside the airbase and deposited the bag of rubbish in there. ‘I don’t want to argue with you.’
She crossed her arms in front of her. ‘I’ve arranged time off to do this, Hudson. I didn’t think you’d appreciate me changing the schedule even though Beau is being punished.’ Her lips formed that hard line that said they were at an impasse.
‘Okay, you’re right. He has been working hard. Could you please just make sure they’re home by Carys’s bedtime?’
‘Wouldn’t dream of doing anything else,’ she said but she was already walking over to Beau.
‘I’ll get his bag from the locker room,’ Hudson mumbled.
He hoped he’d get a chance to talk to Nadia tomorrow but tonight, all he had to look forward to was going home to an empty house and a lonely dinner for one.
The next day, Hudson waited in reception for Nadia to finish up in her early-morning meeting with the fundraising committee. He’d arranged for them to visit the Wallace family – Marissa’s parents, Lena’s grandparents. The police had already told Mr and Mrs Wallace the basics of what had happened but the family unsurprisingly had questions; they needed to hear about the medical side and it was part of Hudson’s job to be that bridge. Hudson and Nadia had all the information they needed. They’d gathered the facts from Kate and Brad’s accounts of whathappened; Hudson had interviewed the road paramedics who’d been first on the scene.
‘Ready?’ she asked when she appeared, bag and raincoat in hand in preparation for the dark clouds outside.
‘Ready.’
They were soon on their way to the family’s home.
‘How did it go with Archie?’ He’d been desperate to ask her but hadn’t wanted to do it until they were alone.
