‘About what?’

‘About you.’

Her eyes narrowed. For whatever reason, it hadn’t crossed her mind. ‘All I did was my job – they’ll be more annoyed at Call Me Bob for being careless.’ Jessica looked at the clock high on the wall. The assistants had cleared the other tables and were leaning on the counter at the front glaring at them. ‘We should go.’

Garry started packing his papers away, as Dave downed the rest of his drink. ‘There’s only one thing we don’t have a clue about,’ Garry said.

‘What?’

‘Who sent you that letter?’

Jessica shrugged. ‘I guess we’ll never know.’

ONE WEEK LATER

Jessica sat on the sofa with Adam’s arm draped around her. In comparison to all too many that had gone before, it had been a quiet week.

‘Ready to talk about it yet?’ he asked.

On the television, the adverts came on, so Jessica switched it off. Anything was better than watching some shiny-faced dick try to sell you a loan on daytime television. The mornings were the worst. ‘Our DCI is leaving at the end of the year. They announced it yesterday.’

Jessica hadn’t spoken to Cole since he’d told her, but with everyone else knowing, it now seemed real.

‘What does that mean for you?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Promotion?’

‘Definitely not.’

‘More time off?’

Jessica laughed and wedged herself further into his shoulder. She’d just watched him eat two bowls overflowing with Coco Pops – yet he was still desperately skinny. What with Bex upstairs, it meant she was the fat one of the house. ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about time off recently.’

‘What about it?’

‘What if I wanted more?’

‘I thought you said you were owed a few days. Perhaps they’ll let you take time instead of money? We could have a weekend away?’

‘I didn’t mean that – I meant taking lots of time off. Perhaps when Jack goes, I should too. It’s like the end of our era anyway – Jason left, now Jack. There’s that Pratley report due in the new year and it looks like there’ll be another reshuffle. New chief inspector, possibly a new super, and so on. It would be a good time.’

‘You know I’ll support whatever you want to do. It’s never been about the money – after my grandmother and your dad, plus the insurance money after the fire, it’s not as if we’re scraping around for pennies.’

Everything Jessica had been thinking came flooding out: ‘We can look into all we talked about . . . we couldn’t adopt while carrying on as we were. Someone like Iz can balance everything but I’m not like that. I have to be as good as I can be at one thing at a time.’

Adam kissed the top of her hair. ‘I know.’

‘And that’s still what you want – the meetings, the appointments . . . ?’

‘Jess – we were going to have a son together and I was delighted with that. I think that would have given us a bit more work than having to visit a few social workers. I’ve been waiting for you to say this the whole time; I just didn’t want to force anything. We’re going to do it together.’

‘Sure?’

‘Yes!’ He dug his fingers underneath her ribs and began tickling but Jessica bucked so violently that she ended up headbutting him in the chin.

‘Ow,’ they said together, rubbing their various injuries.

‘What about Bex?’ Adam whispered.

‘I want her to stay as long as she wants . . . if you’re okay with that.’

Adam grinned. ‘We got a big house because we wanted to fill it with people. Babies didn’t work, so if you want to start collecting people from the street, then fair enough.’

Jessica returned his smile and wrapped her arms around him again. ‘There’s something about her. I don’t know what. I just get this sense that she’s going to do something with her life. I like it.’

‘It’s nice spending a morning with you,’ Adam said. ‘Your late shift and my half-day Wednesdays work out well. Perhaps I’ll get used to it if you really are going to give your notice.’

‘I am.’

‘You don’t have to.’

‘I want to. I’m going to do it later.’

Adam fought to get his feet out from under her. ‘I still have to be at work for twelve, so if you can move your car from the drive to let mine out . . .’

He stood but Jessica pointed down at her pyjama bottoms and fluffy white boots. ‘I’m not dressed to go outside.’

‘I can’t drive your car – you have the seat too far forward.’

‘So move it back.’

‘Why can’t you do it?’

Jessica stuck out her bottom lip. ‘If you really loved me, you’d move my car first, then come back for yours.’

‘Or, I could just sit in my car, wait for you to move yours, then go to work . . .’

‘Addddddaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmm . . .’

He rolled his eyes. ‘Fine. Where are your keys?’

‘I don’t know – in the kitchen somewhere. I can never find them.’

Grumble, grumble.

As Adam clattered around the kitchen shouting about all the places he hadn’t found them, Bex crept into the room. She was wearing a set of thick pyjamas and dressing gown that Jessica had insisted on giving her the money for. Bex promised to get a job, or else find another way that didn’t involve stealing to pay her back. She seemed confused. ‘What’s up with him?’

‘He’s lost some keys.’

Adam’s voice called ‘found them’ from the kitchen and then his footsteps echoed their way up the stairs.

‘You look happy,’ Bex said.

‘I think we’ve just made the decision to adopt.’

Bex grinned, reaching out and touching Jessica’s knee. ‘That’s lovely.’

‘I’m going to quit the police.’

‘Oh . . . why?’

‘I can’t do both and I don’t want to do that any more. I’ve done too much.’

‘You’re only young.’

Jessica shrugged. ‘Better to go now than wait until I’m forty or fifty.’

Bex nodded, taking a breath and turning away. ‘I’ve been thinking too. You said you wanted to help me figure out what I should do with my life. I think I want to go to college. I was always okay at school but other things kind of took over and—’

‘That’s really good. There are lots around here. I can help you go through prospectuses – unless you already know what you want to do?’

Bex shook her head but grinned. ‘I’ll get a part-time job and I can pay you rent. I don’t want to stay forever – not because of you or Adam, just because—’

‘I understand.’

Adam clumped his way back down the stairs and peered around the living-room door at Jessica, thrusting her keys in the air. ‘I hope you appreciate this.’

He was trying to stop himself laughing but Jessica played along. ‘I’m sure I’ll find a way to say thank you.’

‘There are cars parked all the way up and down the street too, so I’m going to have to go all the way to the bottom, then walk back and get my car.’

‘Wow – my hero.’

Bex dissolved into laughter, which set Jessica off. Adam was stifling a smile as he headed to the door.

‘Oi! Are you going to give me a goodbye kiss?’

‘I’ll bring your keys back in and do it then.’

The front door slammed and Jessica shifted to the edge of the sofa to watch him try to move her car seat. He had forgotten where the mechanism was, leaving Jessica to giggle as he stood with his hands on his hips, arms in the air.

‘He’s lovely,’ Bex said.

‘He really is. Just don’t get him going about the Star Wars sequels. Or cartoons from his childhood.’

Finally Adam found the lever, heaved Jessica’s chair back and climbed into the car.

‘Where did you find him?’ Bex asked.

‘On a case. I think he’s been in my head ever since, even when we weren’t together.’

The engine rumbled to life and Adam edged it towards the road, waiting for a passing car.

‘Are you really looking forward to giving up the job?’ Bex asked. ‘I thought you were the type who would end up running yourself into the ground before you’d even realised.’