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desks?’ She’d spoken to the DCI’s back as he
headed towards his office.
    ‘ No. We’re not getting into
the human rights, bloody palaver!’
    ‘ Well, that leaves waiting
to see if Warner gets back to us. In the meantime I’d better ring
home, I’m expected back tonight.’
    ‘ Ditto.’ The DCI said as he
closed the door of the outer sanctum of his office.
    She knew the call would piss Tom off and
place yet more stress on their fragile marriage. Her recent
workload had stretched Tom’s patience to its limits.
    She thought of Jacques Arnaud and wondered if
she would still be with Tom if it wasn’t for their daughter
Charlie. She didn’t know, but didn’t like the thought either of her
call making things a zillion times worse.
    ‘ Hi, Sweetheart, it’s
me.’
    ‘ What’s up now? You only use
endearments when you’re about to tell me something bad.’
    ‘ I’m sorry, Tom, I
won’t…’
    ‘ You’re not ringing to say
you’re not coming home?’
    The sound of saucepan lids lifting and
banging back down came down the receiver. She imagined he’d have
the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, while he continued
to cook a meal for them. Guilt stopped her from answering him. The
silence stretched the gulf between them until the crash of pots
landing in the sink broke it. Lorne stiffened, shocked at Tom’s
reaction.
    ‘ Please don’t be like that,
Tom. Something big has come up, I can’t go into details over the
phone, but the whole team has to work through the
night.’
    ‘ Ever heard of delegation,
Lorne?’
    The retort had been what she had come to
expect from him lately.
    ‘ Even the DCI is working
through the night on this one…’
    ‘ Ah, how bloody cosy for
you..,’
    Why in God's name had she mentioned Sean
Roberts? Jesus! That was all she needed, the past dredged up again.
Why did every argument or disagreement always come back to
this?
    She and Sean had enrolled in the force
together and after completing their training they had become
partners in every sense of the word. Two years into the
relationship, Tom had come on the scene.
    A mechanic in his father’s garage he’d come
to her rescue when her old banger had given up the will to live.
Within an hour, Tom had fixed the fault and arranged a dinner date
with her for that evening.
    Their courtship had been brief, intense,
lustful and passionate. They had walked down the aisle six months
to the day of their first meeting.
    Sean had coped with her dumping him by
grabbing the promotion offered to him and moving to a force two
hundred miles further north.
    He’d reappeared twelve months ago. Lorne's
professional world had turned upside down when she had learned who
would be taking over on the retirement of her old DCI.
    Her fears proved to be unfounded. He’d taken
her to one side, telling her that bygones were bygones and
reassured her, her job was safe.
    If the news of Sean’s returning had worried
her, it had devastated Tom.
    ‘ Look, Tom, how many times
do I have to tell you, it’s you I love? You have nothing to worry
about where Roberts is concerned.
    ‘ Who are you trying to
convince?’
    ‘ He’s married, Tom, we’re
married. That’s the end of it, okay?
    ‘ Yeah, but…’
    ‘ No, no buts, Tom. Listen,
is Charlie home, yet?
    ‘ Nope.’
    ‘ Where is she?’
    Charlie, their thirteen year old going on
thirty, seemed intent on pushing teenage rebellion to the
extreme.
    ‘ She rang earlier, told me a
group of them were going into town straight from school. Before I
could tell her to come straight home she’d hung up on me and her
phone miraculously died when I rang her back.’
    Great! Yet another thing to worry about…
    ‘ I’ll ask Sergeant Harris to
get uniform to look out for her.’
    ‘ And if they find her, are
you going to bang her up in a cell all night?’
    His attitude got to her. ‘If that’s what it
takes, Tom, that’s exactly what I’ll do.’
    ‘ You can’t do
that!’
    ‘ Like you give a