He looked good and was wearing casual jeans, another T-shirt based on a cartoon she knew, a thin jacket and canvas trainers. ‘Do you want something to drink?’ he asked, approaching the table.

‘No, I’m not feeling too great.’

Adam looked a little disappointed and sat on the stool opposite her. ‘Oh right, I was hoping we were going to talk about . . .’

‘I need you to do something for me.’

Adam sighed and looked away from her. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have come.’

‘Please, Adam. It’s just one thing.’

‘Jess . . . I’m not very good with this type of thing. You didn’t contact me for all that time. I called and sent you texts and left you messages. I know you were ignoring me and I figured “fair enough”. I mean, I was upset and all because I thought we got on great but I’m not a stalker or anything and figured that if you didn’t want to see me, it was up to you.’

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, rubbing his eyes. ‘Look, I know your friend from the quiz was killed that night and it’s all right if you were upset and everything. I understand that and thought I’d give you space but I don’t know what you want from me.’

Jessica breathed out heavily. ‘I need you to do one thing for me and then we can try again.’

Adam kept looking at the table and wiped his eyes a second time. ‘What?’

Jessica reached into the handbag she’d brought with her and took out the transparent wallet that had the bloodied gauze on it. She put it on the table so he could see. ‘Please can you test this for me against Donald McKenna? I couldn’t freeze it but I kept it as cool as I could. I touched it too but I can give you a sample so you can eliminate me. I got these . . .’

She reached into her bag again and took out a clean mouth swab she had taken from the station and another clear packet. ‘If I give you a swab, you can separate any traces of me, yes? I was careful when I picked it all up anyway so you might not have to.’

Adam shook his head but still didn’t look up. ‘It’s not that simple but I can’t do it anyway, Jess. You can’t ask me to. When you log into the database it all gets stored. If anyone ever checked, I’d have no answer and would lose my job. They could even prosecute me.’

‘They don’t just check as a matter of course though, do they? It’s unlikely they’d find out.’

‘That’s not the point. It’s illegal.’

‘Can you do it for me?’

Jessica had never seen Adam lose his temper before but he banged his fist on the table and looked through teary eyes straight at her, his voice full of anger. ‘How dare you. I’ve waited all these days to get any kind of reply from you. Anything to say “hi” or “sorry for not getting back to you”. Anything. You ignore me completely and then, when you want something, you get me out here and ask me to break the law for you.’

‘Adam, I’m sorry, I . . .’

‘I told you about my parents. I don’t tell anyone but I told you.’ Jessica simply stared at the man in front of her, with no idea what to say. He wasn’t making any effort to control his tears any longer.

When it was clear she wasn’t going to add anything, Adam looked away again and picked up the small bag with the blood-soaked gauze. ‘Jess, look, I like you. I really like you. I know we only went out a few times but I had some of the most fun I’ve ever had. If you want me to test these, just swab your mouth and say the word and I’ll do it. For you. But after that, I don’t want to ever see you again unless you absolutely have to come to my work. Even then, I want you to ask for someone else. But if you enjoyed those moments as much as me, please don’t ask me to do this.’

Jessica looked at the tears running down his face and the redness around his eyes then picked up the mouth swab, ran it around the inside of her cheek and put it in the evidence bag.

‘Just test it.’

32

In the two days since seeing Adam, Jessica jumped every time her phone went off. Whenever it rang or sounded the familiar text-message tone, she would snatch it from her pocket and look to see if it was Adam contacting her. She had spent two more nights outside of DCI Farraday’s house but had been careful not to fall asleep. She took a thicker jacket each evening to guard against the cold and waited until three in the morning before driving home and trying to sleep for a short while before heading to the station.

She had managed four hours’ sleep in two days and had barely eaten, having just picked at a couple of pasta dishes for lunch from the station’s canteen. She could feel her body craving rest and food but fought to keep going, telling herself that as soon as Adam got back to her it would all be worth it. Jessica was struggling with her conscience to justify the way she had treated him. It was as if a coldness had taken her over in the pub, pushing her to act in a way she wouldn’t normally.

Whether it was at briefings with others or in the quietness of her own office, she found her mind wandering frequently and could still hear the voices in her head telling her she was right.

‘The end justifies the means.’

The media appeal using Donald McKenna’s photograph hadn’t gone well at all. On the first evening, they fielded a very irate call from the prison’s governor asking what they were playing at. Farraday also told them he’d had to deal with an incensed superintendent who had been contacted by the governor wanting answers.

None of that would have mattered if any of the calls had been useful but almost every person who phoned had pointed out the picture was McKenna. There was a small number of other names put forwards but nothing that fitted their criteria. The positivity that had gripped the team in the previous days now felt distant and everyone was back to hoping for a lead rather than being able to push for one.

Jessica was sure one call from Adam could change all of that. When she got her match she knew she’d still have no admissible evidence, given the way she had taken the chief inspector’s blood, but at least she would know for sure he was the twin and either he or McKenna had somehow changed their appearance.

After an unproductive day, Farraday asked Jessica if she could hang around at the station to finish off the paperwork relating to the phone campaign. She didn’t know why he wanted her specifically but she gave it twenty minutes before passing it on to another officer. She was planning to go home and change before heading off to wait outside his house for the evening.

The nights were drawing in and there was only an hour of daylight left as Jessica drove out of the station. The rain had begun earlier in the day and not relented and her car’s heater was again struggling to keep the steam from the windscreen. As she reached forwards to wipe away the mist, she heard her phone ringing. Knowing she shouldn’t, she took the device out of her pocket and glanced away from the road down at the screen.

‘Adam Compton’ the screen read. Jessica pulled over to the side of the road, only realising after she’d stopped that she hadn’t indicated. The driver of the car behind beeped their horn in annoyance as they swerved around her but Jessica wasn’t bothered. She quickly pressed the screen to answer the call. ‘Adam, have you done the test?’

The man on the other end was clearly a little shocked at her directness. ‘Yes.’

‘What did it say?’

‘I don’t know what you were expecting but there was nothing. No match to Donald McKenna, no match to anyone.’

Jessica was silent for a moment, stunned by what he had said. ‘It’s not?’

‘No.’

‘I didn’t contaminate it or anything, did I? It’s definitely right?’

‘I know how to do my job.’