‘I’m sorry I couldn’t be there at the end,’ Jessica said.

Adam shrugged an acknowledgement. ‘How’s everything with you?’

‘Same as ever, really. Cases with no leads, bosses who don’t appreciate me, not enough money, too many takeaways, car falling apart.’

Adam was laughing. ‘Look at the state of us, we’re both in our thirties.’

It was something consistently in Jessica’s thoughts. ‘The problem with being thirty-odd is that you still feel eighteen,’ she said. ‘To anyone else, you’re that sensible – or not – thirty-something who has got a proper job and responsibilities and so on but, in your head, you’re still just a crazy eighteen-year-old ready to take on the world.’

Adam was nodding in agreement. ‘There was this new woman who started at work the other week. It was the week after her fortieth birthday. I caught myself looking at her and thinking, “Oh, she’s only a few years older than me”, then I thought, “Bloody hell, she’s only a few years older than me”. It’s scary.’

‘You’re telling me. There’s this woman I work with, Izzy. She’s brilliant but she’s like a proper adult. We’re about the same age but she’s married with a house and savings and a kid on the way. Meanwhile, I’m still slobbing around and living off takeaway curries. Do you remember Dave? We went to that pub quiz that time?’

‘The spiky-haired guy?’

‘Yeah, him. Even he’s got a proper girlfriend and is settling down now. I just can’t get over being halfway between thirty and forty. When you’re a kid, you look at your parents and teachers and just assume they know what it’s like to be an adult. You think that when you get there, it’ll just come together. But it doesn’t, well, it hasn’t for me anyway. Sometimes I feel like I’m still trying it on when I order a beer, as if I’m trying to get served when I’m underage.’

‘Growing up is shit.’

‘Yeah, it is. I was talking to Izzy a few days ago and she was telling me about having to buy a car seat before she has the baby so she can take it home from the hospital and I was thinking, “What age have you got to be before you start thinking sensibly like that?”’

‘You’re not thinking of having a baby, are you?’

‘No, I . . .’ Jessica tailed off. A thought had occurred to her and she was trying to run through the day’s events in her mind.

‘Jess?’

‘Sorry, no . . . I’m not after a baby. I just . . . thought of something.’

‘Something important?’

‘I don’t know.’ Jessica finished her drink in one final gulp. Because of the lump she’d had in her throat and the dryness in her mouth, she’d been sipping it throughout the conversation. ‘Look, I’m really sorry but I’m going to have to go. I think it is important. I’m not trying to run away.’

Adam met her eyes and smiled. ‘It’s okay.’

‘Can we do something again?’

‘Definitely.’

‘I’ll call you, or message you or something – soon. I’ve got loads going on at work but I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring you . . . again.’

Jessica stared into his eyes, imploring him to believe her. The crinkles around his mouth as he smiled told her that he did. ‘Whenever you’re free.’

Adam stood and she followed his lead. He held his arms out and she stepped close, allowing him to hug her. She had held back the tears for the entire evening but Jessica was suddenly engulfed by them. Responding immediately, Adam pulled her closer, cupping the back of her head and allowing her to cry on his shoulder. Any display of affection, let alone crying in public, would usually have been something Jessica avoided at all costs. But in a small bar in the middle of the city she had lived in for ten years, she knew she was experiencing the most intimate moment of her life.

20

After saying goodbye to Adam, Jessica phoned DCI Cole. With all the tension regarding who was in charge, it wasn’t a time to start doing things on her own. The chief inspector listened to her theory, acknowledged it could be something important, then said he would meet her at the station.

The pair worked together in near silence, doing tasks that would usually be assigned to people more junior. Given how fragile she felt after her encounter with Adam, it was exactly what Jessica needed to make her switch on again. Before they could act, it was essential they made sure their facts were correct. The more they checked and re-checked the information they had, the bigger the buzz Jessica felt building inside. By the time they were as certain as they could be that she might be right, it was almost midnight and the chief inspector felt it was too late in the day to act decisively and, more importantly, safely. Officers were dispatched to keep watch overnight while everything was put in place so they could move in the morning.

Jessica had another largely sleepless night – but this time it wasn’t due to Caroline or her own insecurities. She felt excited at what the next morning might bring, the butterflies she had felt as Adam held her still lingering too.

By the time she arrived at the station the next morning, everything was in place. The officers who had been on watch overnight hadn’t reported anything untoward which meant that if Jessica was right, Lloyd Corless could be back with his mother within hours.

Desperate for a result, Cole said the chief superintendent had agreed to Jessica being able to do things her way, which was something that surprised the pair of them.

With a team of officers within a few hundred metres, Jessica knocked on Sharon Corless’s front door. One of the first things she had checked the previous evening was all the background information on Adrian’s mother. When no one answered, she banged loudly again. One of the officers who had been watching the property the previous night insisted he had seen the woman inside and no one had left. Just as Jessica was about to turn around, the door opened a small crack and she could see the mouth and eyes of the woman who had shouted at her the previous day. Before Jessica could speak, the door was opened a little further.

‘What are you doing here?’ Sharon demanded angrily, her eyes as ferocious as the previous day.

‘I’d like to ask you a few questions about your missing grandson,’ Jessica said as politely as she could.

‘What do you want to know?’

‘Can I come in?’

‘Why?’

‘Because it’s cold out here and it would probably be best if we do this inside.’ Jessica kept a level tone as the woman stared at her. Lloyd Corless’s grandmother looked as if she was weighing up what to do before pulling the door open for Jessica to step through.

Jessica had already run through with both Cole and Reynolds what she was going to say, assuming she was allowed inside. She allowed herself to be led through to a pristinely clean kitchen. Light spilled through the window, gleaming off the white worktops. There were two stools at a high table and Jessica sat on one, although the other woman didn’t follow, standing with her arms crossed. Her outfit was marginally better than the curtain-like dress she’d had on the previous day but she was still wearing a shapeless black blouse that looked enormous.

‘What do you want then?’ Sharon asked. Her tone wasn’t angry, more impatient.

‘Just a bit of a chat. I was wondering how you get on with your grandchildren?’

‘Fine.’

‘Adrian is your only child, yes? So Lloyd and Marcus are your only grandchildren?’

Sharon narrowed her eyes, glaring at Jessica, who already knew the answers before asking the questions. ‘That’s right,’ the woman said after a short pause.

‘And how often do you see them?’

‘Maybe once a month? I visit them at my son’s house.’

‘How do you feel about that?’