‘So he set the fire at Martin’s?’

‘I think so. Sebastian is in hospital with burns. He set fire to his own feet. The doctors don’t know if he will ever walk again. He hasn’t been talking. I think he literally just wanted to light the fuse and see what would happen between the two men. To us, it looked like Anthony waging war and Ryan or Martin fighting back. Really it was just one guy attacking both sides.’

‘But why would he want to burn down the house of that girl who killed herself?’

Jessica pulled up the blanket to cover Amber’s ears, just in case the baby could somehow understand what was being said. ‘I reckon he got the bug after that. When I spoke to Martin in hospital he talked about the addiction he had to the flames. For some people it’s booze or fags, for him it’s fire. I wonder if that’s how Sebastian felt after he tried it the first time? My theory was that he was just targeting people in the news, which would then generate bigger stories.’

‘And that’s how you found him?’

‘Pretty much. I’m mates with this private investigator guy. He followed Sebastian over a couple of days and saw him leave this petrol can in a wheelie bin opposite Peter and Nicola North’s house. We had to be careful so we made sure there were fire extinguishers around. We wanted to catch him doing it, of course. I waited in the house, Andrew was just around the corner, and our other lot were at the end of the road out of sight.’

‘Wow, he was really going to target those poor people?’

Jessica nodded. ‘Horrible, isn’t it.’

‘And why you?’

It was something Jessica didn’t want to think too deeply about. ‘Same reason, I guess. Think about the coverage it got. Everyone was reporting it.’

Izzy reached onto the coffee table and picked up her mug of tea, interlocking her fingers around it and taking a sip. ‘When you arrested him, were you scared . . . after what happened to you?’

Jessica ignored the question. ‘The stupid thing is that, in the end, I don’t know how much more he was going to gain. He got a promotion, he looked good among his colleagues, but what else was he going to do? With me, everyone reported it so there was no personal gain to him. I think he started by doing this to make himself look impressive but, by the end, he was addicted to what he was doing.’

‘Dave told me you put the flames out when Sebastian was on fire.’

Jessica shrugged. ‘Yeah.’

‘Did you think about . . . ? I dunno. After what he tried to do to you . . . ?’

For a few moments, Jessica said nothing and then she changed the subject. ‘Did you see the story about the teacher who had the affair with the student who killed herself?’

Izzy stared at Jessica, pausing before replying. ‘I saw.’ she replied. Amber wriggled gently in Jessica’s arms and gave a slight gurgle. ‘Just rock her,’ Izzy said. Jessica began to bob the girl delicately up and down. ‘You’ll want one of your own soon,’ Izzy concluded.

‘Did you hear that Dave split up with Chloe?’ Jessica asked, again deliberately changing the subject.

‘Yes.’ Izzy shook her head. ‘He said it had just reached a natural end and tried to laugh it off but I think there’s something more. They were living together and talking about marriage and stuff. You don’t just do that.’

‘Did he say anything else?’

‘Not really. I got the impression there was someone else.’

Jessica had been trying to catch some time alone with him but it was proving elusive. ‘Who?’ she asked.

Jessica thought she saw her friend’s eyebrows raise but, if they did, it was only for a moment. ‘No idea,’ Izzy said. Her tone sounded unconvincing but, as Jessica softly rocked Amber back to sleep, she didn’t think it really mattered.

35

Jessica tapped her hand on the top of the steering wheel in frustration. ‘Lorry drivers really are knobheads,’ she said.

‘What’s wrong with them?’ Adam asked, although Jessica suspected he didn’t particularly want to know the answer.

‘It’s just one dick overtaking another dick for five miles, and meanwhile we’re all backed up trying to go around.’

Although she was watching the road, she could sense Adam rolling his eyes. ‘So where are we going?’ he asked.

Jessica eased onto the brake to let a car pull out in front of her. ‘Wait and see.’

In the week since Sebastian Lowe had been arrested, Jessica had been trying to convince herself that the reason she had been picturing him in her dreams so often was because it was her subconscious trying to tell her something that, deep down, she already knew. When she thought about it like that, she could almost feel justified for the way he consistently intruded into her thoughts.

She figured that it might eventually feel true if she repeated it enough times.

As she finally accelerated past the lorry and pulled back into the second lane, she eased off the accelerator. ‘Are you all right?’ Adam asked.

‘Yeah, you?’

She heard Adam breathe in deeply before he finally spoke. ‘Why did he do it, Jess?’

Jessica could feel the anguish in his voice. ‘I’m not sure you’ll ever get the answer you need if that’s the question you ask.’

It was something she didn’t know the answer to, despite telling Izzy and her other colleagues what her suspicions were. Adam said nothing for a few moments as Jessica indicated and moved to the inside lane, ready to exit at the next junction. ‘What should I ask instead?’

‘You should ask when I want to get married.’

‘Um . . . okay. When do you want to get married?’

Jessica indicated again, this time crossing the dotted line and slowing as she entered the bend of the slip road. ‘What sign did we just pass?’

‘The airport.’

‘Yep. Guess where we’re going.’

Adam made an ‘um’ sound as if ready to play along and then said in a panicked voice: ‘I don’t have my passport.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ve got both of ours. It’s a good job we kept them at the bottom of the wardrobe. Anyway, hurry up and guess.’

‘Er, I dunno. Paris?’

‘Nah, further. The other way.’

‘America?’

‘Well, yeah. But it’s a pretty big place. I don’t think they’re going to drop us out somewhere in the middle and see where we land.’

‘New York?’

‘Further.’

‘Er, Orlando?’

Jessica laughed. ‘Hang on a minute, do you want to go to Disney World?’

Adam snorted. ‘I’ve always wanted to get in a fight with one of those mascots.’

‘You want to get in a fight?’

‘Not really. I just fancy rugby-tackling one of them. You know the guys in the big furry suit things.’

Jessica was trying to focus on the road but, considering she had never known Adam display anything approaching a violent side, she sneaked a sideways look at him. ‘Why?’

‘I dunno. Just one of those things.’

‘Right . . . And you say I’m the weird one. Anyway, we’re not going to Disney World.’

‘Texas?’

‘Too hot.’

‘LA?’

‘Nah, we would both be mega-fat there.’

Adam paused for a moment and as Jessica waited at the traffic lights to turn into the airport car park, she knew he had the answer. ‘Oh,’ he said.

‘So are you going to ask me again when I want to get married?’

She turned to face him as the light hovered on red. ‘When would you like to get married, Jess?’ he asked with a smile.

Jessica turned back to the road but couldn’t stop herself smiling. ‘As soon as we get to Vegas. And you better get ready to carry me over the threshold because my back has been bloody killing me.’

Afterword

I’ll start by saying that if you’ve skipped to the back without reading the story, you should really stop reading now to avoid spoilers.