I shrugged. ‘Have it your way.’

‘It’s convenient, though, isn’t it?’ She did the eyebrow-thing. It was really beginning to grate on me. ‘To blame it on someone who’s already in custody.’

‘It’s not convenient,’ I said, with a shrug. ‘It’s connected.’

‘All right, then.’ She paced up and down, her hands behind her back. ‘Humour me. What was he using to blackmail her?’

I hadn’t even realised Giles was listening. At that moment, he cut into the conversation. ‘I think that’s a conversation for another time,’ he said, pinning her with one of his eagle stares. ‘When she wakes up, I’m sure she’ll be able to tell us herself.’

‘Well, then.’ She looked from Giles, then back to me, her eyes narrowed. ‘We’ll just have to hope she wakes up, won’t we?’

For a moment, I thought Giles was going to hit her. He stepped towards her, fury all over his face. Then he seemed to change his mind. He turned back to look at Felicity, then fixed DI Brown with a look. ‘Can’t you see we’ve other things on our minds?’

‘Oh, yes,’ she said, unpleasantly. ‘I’d forgotten…the rules don’t apply to you lot, do they?’

‘Nor to you, it would seem.’ Giles’s voice was steady again, but I could sense the rage burning just under his skin. ‘My daughter’s in a coma, in case you were unaware. I believe it’s usual to display a modicum of respect in the circumstances.’

She went to speak, but he swept on. ‘Instead, you come in here making crass remarks and harassing my friend who – by the paramedics’ own admission – saved her life. Are you actually accusing him of anything?’

She didn’t speak for a moment, then took a deep breath. ‘I’m merely making an observation. I’d be highly surprised to find that this didn’t all lead back to…’ She cast a disparaging look in my direction. ‘…our mutual friend here.’

‘Well.’ Giles said nastily. ‘We won’t be pressing charges, anyway, so you’re out of luck.’

‘I know who you are,’ she said, sounding less certain of herself. ‘Don’t think I don’t.’

‘Good,’ he said, in a horrible imitation of affability. ‘Then I won’t need to introduce myself in the morning.’

Her eyes widened at this and she looked away. I could tell she was envisioning her job slipping through her fingers like dust, and I almost felt sorry for her. I knew Giles could make it happen and so, evidently, did she.

At that point, a nurse came in. ‘There’s too many people,’ he said. ‘Two to a bed, please.’

‘I was just going.’ DI Brown nodded briefly at us, turned on her heel and went out through the swing doors.

The nurse spent a few minutes at the bed, assessing Felicity’s vital signs and making her comfortable, before leaving with a warning to keep the noise down. Giles had spent the time standing by the bed, his head bowed as if in deep contemplation.

As soon as the nurse had gone, he turned to me. ‘This Rick – he’s definitely in custody?’

I nodded.

‘Good.’ He sat down in the chair next to the bed.

I waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t speak again for a while. When he did, it was to tell me what I already knew. ‘You’re a fucking idiot, Nathaniel.’

‘I know.’

‘But we’re both at fault. You should’ve come to me as soon as that tape went missing.’

‘I wanted to sort it myself,’ I said. I think I was trying to justify it to myself, as much as to him. ‘The tape, I mean. I didn’t know about this…’ I indicated Felicity. ‘…until this afternoon. I was going to sort it.’

‘Do you have it?’ His tone was terse. ‘The tape?’

I took it out of my pocket and held it out to him. He took it, holding it between finger and thumb and regarding it as if were human excrement at the very least. He tucked it inside his jacket, and gave a sigh.

‘I’m so sorry, Giles.’ I felt tired suddenly, and bleak, as if the world had shifted into greyscale.

‘It’s sorted,’ he said. ‘This little girl’s a fighter, you mark my words, and the rest is already done.’

I didn’t think to wonder what he meant. I was too busy hoping he was right about Felicity. I patted him on the shoulder, took one final look at his daughter lying there, so guileless and vulnerable in the unreachable slumber of coma, then left him to his grief.

    Fourteen

Her

I should have known it wouldn’t end with just a meal. We’d gone Thai; a tiny but traditional restaurant with the ubiquitous fake lotus blooms hanging all around, and the food had been good – what little I’d tasted of it. I just couldn’t face eating – it’d been a hell of a day, and my stomach felt twisted up in knots.

I’d barely managed more than a few nibbles of green curry, before I’d pushed it away from me. Even the scent of the jasmine rice hadn’t been enough to tempt me further. I was too heartsick at the thought of Nathaniel, out there in the city somewhere, not sparing even the few moments it would’ve taken him to text me.

Liv hadn’t eaten much, either, but she’d more than made up for it in the wine she’d drunk. She sat back for a moment, watching me, before sighing. ‘Forget him,’ she said. ‘You were right all along, Grace. I just didn’t see it. Men are only good for one thing, and that’s to be used. It’s what they do to us, after all. Not one of them’s to be trusted.’

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t remember saying men were only to be used. I wanted to protest – to say that Nathaniel was different - but how could I? His silence said more than his words ever had.

‘Let’s hit some bars,’ she continued. ‘Have some fun on our own terms.’

The thought of another night out, especially after the night before, made my shoulders sag. I’d barely recovered from my hangover. But the thought of going home to the empty house; of trying to fill the void in my heart with crap TV – was even worse. I nodded briefly and Liv called for the bill.

The bar she chose was a few minutes down the road. A wine bar, it was full of well-groomed, suited types fresh from the Tube. As we walked in, a group of guys – who looked to be office workers – turned round to look at us…at me.

‘Jesus Christ,’ I heard one of them say. ‘Isn’t that Grace Anderton?’

I didn’t catch the rest of what was said, because Liv was already hot-footing it to the bar. I threw them a smile as I passed, feeling horribly self-conscious, and they called out to me to come over. I smiled again like an idiot and shook my head but, as I went to carry on walking, Liv stopped and nudged me. ‘Go over there,’ she hissed urgently, smiling over at them. ‘Go on.’

I hesitated, wanting to turn and head on to the bar, but she gave me a short, sharp push between the shoulder blades, and I had to carry on in their direction, or risk falling over.

‘You cow,’ I hissed back, as she followed me over to them, looking as cool as I felt stupid.

‘Hey guys,’ she said, one arm now around my waist. ‘Hard day at the office? Tell me about it.’

She launched straight into a diatribe about Max and how her life would be a lot easier if he’d just walk under a bus and, within seconds, we were swallowed up into the group, as if we’d been with them the entire evening.

‘Drinks for the ladies,’ said one of them, who’d introduced himself as Steve.

‘Wine,’ said Liv, dramatically. ‘I need it.’

They all laughed and, a few minutes later, we were both furnished with over-large glasses of slightly amber-looking white wine. I took a sip of mine, while Liv tipped her head back and drained it in one.

‘Liv!’ I said. ‘Maybe you should…’

Steve interrupted. ‘More wine!’ he yelled to the barman.

‘No,’ said Liv, slamming her glass down on the bar. ‘Not here. Let’s go somewhere else.’

The rest of the group – there were six guys in all – cheered, and we all headed out to the street. Steve had his arm around Liv by this time, and I didn’t hear what they were saying but, after a short wait on the pavement, I was bundled into a taxi and we headed off into the London evening, the low sun already dipping behind the buildings and plunging the city streets into an early dusk.