68

Geraldine smiled at Ian. They had been too busy lately for her to enquire about his meeting with his estranged wife, or for him to ask after her sisters. Now they were at the pub, with time to take an evening off and chat, only they were surrounded by their colleagues, all celebrating the successful conclusion to their investigation. They were standing with Naomi and Ariadne and not far away Eileen was talking to a group of constables, young and eager enough to listen to their senior investigating officer telling them something they already knew. Eileen cracked a joke and her audience laughed loudly.

‘So there were two of them all along,’ they heard her say.

‘Three if we count the dog,’ Ian said, too quietly for anyone beyond their immediate circle to hear.

Naomi heaved a sigh. ‘Poor animal. I think it’s a shame it had to be put down.’

‘It had mauled a woman to death,’ Ariadne said. ‘And it nearly killed Geraldine!’

‘It wasn’t the dog’s fault,’ Naomi replied. ‘It’s always a person who’s to blame, not a poor dumb animal.’

Geraldine nodded. ‘Naomi’s right.’

‘So who was responsible?’ Ariadne asked. ‘Will or Luciana?’

‘It was both of them,’ Naomi replied.

‘But someone must have had the idea first,’ Geraldine added. ‘I wonder which of them was the first to think of it. They’re both so busy blaming each other, I don’t think we’ll ever know who started it.’

‘I wonder who really did think up the idea first,’ Naomi said.

‘It must have been Luciana. She was the one who stood to gain from the deaths,’ Ariadne replied.

‘But he’s the psychopath,’ Naomi said. ‘Who else would have come up with the idea of killing them? I mean, anyone might speculate about ways to get their hands on their inheritance, but most people would never dream of committing murder, let alone actually do it.’

After a few rounds Geraldine’s colleagues began to drift away, and she announced she was leaving as well.

‘I’ll walk you to your car,’ Ian said.

It was a mild evening and they sauntered back towards the police station in silence for a few moments.

‘Did you get to see Bev?’ Geraldine asked as they approached the entrance to the car park.

‘Yes.’

His response was so curt she regretted having asked the question.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to be intrusive. I’m just concerned about you. I mean, not in the sense of being worried about you. I know you’re perfectly capable of running your own life. But I care about you, that’s all. As a friend, I mean.’

Too late she stopped talking, aware that her words sounded crass. Somehow Ian had the ability to make her feel like an awkward teenager whenever they were alone together.

‘She’s fallen out with her new boyfriend,’ he said.

‘Is that a bad thing?’

‘Geraldine, she’s having his baby!’

He paused. Glancing sideways, she could see his expression tauten. After a few seconds he spoke again, his teeth clenched.

‘She’s a difficult woman. I’m not surprised he sent her packing. But did she really think I’d take her back? Why would I?’ He gave an angry snort. ‘She as good as accused me of failing in my responsibilities as a husband, abandoning her now she’s pregnant. I really think she just assumed I’d be willing to go back to how we were before she left. But it’s not my child she’s carrying.’

He sounded so angry, Geraldine had to restrain herself from reaching out and putting her hand on his arm, the urge to comfort him was so strong. Instead, she resorted to the clumsy contrivance of words.

‘Ian, you’re under absolutely no obligation to take her back, or to support her. She left you, remember? Besides which, her baby has a father. It’s his responsibility, not yours. Unless you want her back. Along with another man’s baby,’ she added, with a slight tremor in her voice.

‘I know her baby’s no more my responsibility than she is.’ He frowned. ‘A better man than me would take her back, and bring her child up as his own. But I can’t. I just can’t.’

‘That’s perfectly reasonable. And I don’t believe most men would want her back after she cheated on you like that. I know I wouldn’t if I was a man.’

Ian laughed. ‘If you were a man. What do you know about it?’ He shook his head. ‘I think the hardest part of it is that after so many years, I have to acknowledge that I can never have really loved her at all. How could I have loved her, when I’m prepared to give up on her like this?’

‘She was the one who gave up on your relationship, not you.’

He nodded. ‘Yes, she did. She lied and cheated, and… Well, after her betrayal, we can never go back to how we were. But the curious thing is, when I saw her, I felt nothing.’ He stopped and turned to stare at her, his eyes troubled. ‘Is it possible to stop loving someone?’

Remembering Eddy’s hysterical devotion to his wife, Geraldine shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

‘We were very young when we met,’ he went on, talking more to himself than to her. ‘Perhaps what I felt was never really love at all, but just an immature infatuation that carried on far longer than it should have done after we left school.’ He took a deep breath and shook his head. ‘Anyway, enough about me. What about you? How’s your sister and her new baby? And your crazy twin?’

‘She’s not crazy. Actually she’s doing pretty well. I’m hoping she’s going to be OK. She’s talking about getting a dog. That shows she’s ready to take on some responsibility, doesn’t it?’

‘I hope it’s not a Pitweiler.’

She turned to him, ready with a sharp retort, but Ian was smiling at her and she couldn’t help smiling back.