Kelly glanced at him. This was the question she didn’t want to answer because she was terrified of it failing again.
Lizzie gurgled from her pram in the hall. They hadn’t risked moving her while they were eating; that could wait – she was more than comfortable in there.
‘Of course I do. I miss the best times. I miss swimming on a hot day after work and talking about our jobs. I miss you next to me when I wake up and when I go to sleep.’
They munched quietly, each contemplating what the other meant to them.
When they’d finished their food, Johnny tidied the plates and Kelly put Lizzie to bed and when she came back downstairs, Johnny had poured them a glass of wine each and taken blankets out to the terrace. The sun was dipping, and the day was almost done. The week had thrown Kelly some curveballs but now Johnny was there, and even if it was only for a couple of nights in her spare room while she tackled whatever this case threw at her next, she knew that she’d feel safer.
Chapter 44
Sixteen miles away, in the town of Keswick, on Derwent Water’s north shore, Emma parked her car.
She’d been following a podcast on a corporate manslaughter case, related to FairGro, and paused it to gather her things and finally relax at home with Dan for the evening. They were looking forward to turning in for an early night. The case was making them all scratch their heads. Until they had solid forensic analysis, they couldn’t tie anything together.
She and Dan had been seeing each other on and off for over two years now and they’d had the conversation about what their future looked like.
They fitted together. That was all that mattered to them both. In many ways, they were opposites, but that’s why it worked. In the office, they were soulmates; at home, they dovetailed.
Kelly Porter was a brilliant boss. A superb operator but she was also human. She had warned them in the early days about interprofessional relationships. They were tricky. They knew that. But their boss said personal lives only became important if they encroached on performance. Besides, since losing Rob, they all valued life a little bit more.
Emma’s pregnancy had made them even closer. At only fourteen weeks, she’d had to tell Kelly because her body had begun to show signs of mutiny. Sickness, weird swelling, nausea towards tea and coffee, irritability and a short temper. It also made her terribly emotional and it had been tough looking at the autopsy photos of Angelina Robbins.
She walked towards the door of the grand old Victorian terrace that was divided into four flats, laden with kit from her car.
The podcast was part of a series she was following. It was hosted by Joe Folly.
This one told a story of corruption and money grabbing that was worthy of a Netflix show. Emma hardly believed it was true and if she hadn’t seen the evidence for herself, she wouldn’t have believed it still. Over the last week, she and Dan had grown to regard the young podcaster as an important voice in the case. He showed integrity, he treated his sources with respect, he never revealed his witnesses without their permission, and he was endorsed by some big names across the pond and in Europe. It had become quite a thing for Emma and Dan to listen to him in the evening. They’d discovered Hampton-Dent had a history of covering up insurance claims and illegal use of toxic ingredients. They got away with it, according to Joe Folly, because Tilda Dent’s uncle was a congressman, her cousin was a Supreme Court judge and Hank Hampton’s father was a senator. There were governors, attorneys and a litter of names in the house of representatives too.
They were like the Kennedys. It was the UK equivalent of being related to the royal family, with the access to their cash, as well as having chums in the Houses of Parliament. The dark shadows of power were a mystery to her and her mind was open to anything, if it was backed with enough evidence. Joe Folly was convincing.
Medical negligence claims against Hampton-Dent were hushed up, paid off, or the plaintiff disappeared.
She got to the door, but her key didn’t work. It happened sometimes because it was slightly twisted from being crushed under a car wheel when she drove over it. She swore and thought about calling Dan. She could see lights on in their window on the first floor, but she took a deep breath and picked up her things again and went to the rear of the building. It was dark back there and she had difficulty finding her keys again. She’d put themin her bag and now had to put down everything and search for them.
‘Fuck.’ She dropped them.
‘Emma.’ The voice was male and unfamiliar, and she jumped out of her skin, falling over backwards into a bush.
A figure in black came towards her and leant over, holding out his hand, which was gloved. She looked at it and then at his face, which was half covered with a face mask, as if he were afraid of some invisible virus, but her innards told her that he wore it to prevent her recognising him again. Her body went into high alert.
‘Do I know you?’
He didn’t answer but came closer and she went to shout at the top of her voice, but as soon as she did, he moved like lightning and was on her, covering her mouth with his hand, stifling her cry.
She couldn’t move. Her heart raced and her body stopped fighting. They were taught to appease an attacker and use their intellect not their strength. In most cases of assault, the victim was overwhelmed because of poor decisions and panic. The element of surprise made up for 80 per cent of the power. Emma felt vulnerable and tried to think her way out of the situation. He released his hand gently and whispered. ‘Don’t shout else I’ll hurt you, understood?’
It was a London accent.
She nodded.
‘This is a warning, Emma. Don’t be a hero. I watched Dan come home, he’s waiting for you, but next time it might be me up there not him. You understand, don’t you?’
She nodded vociferously.
Then he disappeared.
Chapter 45
