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“I tried to talk him out of breaking in, but he wasn’t having a bar of it, so I asked him to wait for me and ran across the road to Mrs. McKenzie and asked her to call the police. I tried to give her your and DI Layman’s names but she said her nephew was in the police.” Gabriella tilted her head. “You actually arrived really quickly, come to think of it. I wonder who her nephew is.”

“He’s the Detective Superintendent who my boss reports to.” James leaned back in his chair, and he grinned again. “Came straight down to my office to tell me. He apparently arrived on scene just after Layman did and he and his aunt watched everything from her garden.”

Ruby laughed out loud. “Now that’s funny.”

James forked up some more cake. “It wasn’t very funny at the time, but it certainly makes for a good story at the Yard. Everyone’s buzzing about it.”

Gabriella thought of how much fun Mrs. McKenzie would have had with all that going on, and gave a chuckle. “By the time I’d explained things to Mrs. McKenzie, Ruby had arrived, and we went over to persuade Teddy Roe out of doing anything stupid, but by then, he’d gotten into the house through an unlocked back door, and had locked us out. We eventually went round to the front, and Mrs. Jameson arrived from doing her shopping, and when Ruby accused her of having hostages, she turned and ran off.”

“She turned herself in,” James said. “Went to the local nick and told them who she was.”

“Will she be charged?” Ruby asked.

James lifted his shoulders. “She said she didn’t know Jerry and Sarah were hostages, just people working for her son. It doesn’t hold water, but Sarah and Jerry both say they never saw her, although she made their meals, so she knew they were there. It might not be worth it to go after her.”

“I saw her pulling the missing posters Teddy Roe put up around the neighborhood about Jerry off lamp posts.” Gabriella thought back to the way she’d behaved, and felt a flash of rage.

“That shows a consciousness of guilt,” Ruby said, and Gabriella heard the outrage in her voice.

“Yes, that does change things, doesn’t it?” James suddenly yawned. “Sorry. I’m dead on my feet.”

“We are, too.” Gabriella said. “Ruby was just about to call me a taxi when you arrived.”

“I’ll take you home.” James scraped back his chair and stood. “Thanks for the cake, Ruby.”

They went out into the downpour, James holding her umbrella over her, and shielding her while she got into his car.

When he got in on the driver’s side, shaking off the rain, they sat for a moment in silence, then turned to each other at the same time. The kiss was almost desperate, from both sides, and she was breathing heavily when at last they broke apart.

“Drive,” she told him, voice tight, and when the car took off, the tires squealed a little on the wet road.

It only took five minutes to get to her house, and there was a parking spot almost opposite the front gate.

She was out of the car before he could even round the front bonnet, and he fumbled a little as he locked the car and then ducked under the umbrella with her.

They didn’t touch or hold hands as they ran for the front door, and as soon as they were inside, she headed up the stairs without so much as looking his way.

She could feel him behind her, his big body a wall of warmth after the cold air outside, and she held tight to the railings because she was so distracted she was afraid she’d trip.

They said nothing to each other when they reached her door, and as soon as she got it open, he crowded her inside, spun her around against it to make it close, and then lifted her up.

She pressed back against it, hooking her legs around his hips, and forced down a laugh of sheer excitement.

“What’s funny?” He leaned closer and bit the side of her neck as he turned the key in the lock.

“How impatient I am,” she said.

He stepped back, still holding her off the ground, and turned toward the bed. “Not as impatient as me.”

“You took a chance,” James said much later, gently pushing her hair off her face. “You didn’t need to go back past the house.”

“I wanted to see if they were home, because I knew one of them had a gun, and I thought it would be safer if whoever was coming knew whether they were inside or not.”

He said nothing for a bit, then bent and kissed her bare shoulder. “The police are trained and they’ve signed up for dealing with people like Pete. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way for that.”

She turned her head. “I knew you might be the one who came. And I will always put myself in harm’s way if it means you are safer.” She touched his cheek. “Besides, all I planned to do was walk past the house, which I already do twice a day as it is, so it shouldn’t have been dangerous in any way.”

“Except Teddy Roe decided to play hero.” James sounded grim.