Sam could think of better uses for the cash Simon had given him. So he had hitched lifts for the first two legs of the way back, defying every warning he had ever been given, but the lifts had been fine, both in lorries, one from Glasgow to Birmingham, from where Sam had walked some miles, until he found the next one heading south. Each time, he had slept in a comfortable enough bunk at the back, eaten in transport cafes and at roadside pull-ins, and talked a certain amount to the drivers. He had then been stuck for another lift for almost a day, before getting himself within ten miles of home. From there, only vaguely aware that it was five thirty in the morning, he had telephoned his mother.
‘You smell feral,’ Cat had said on meeting him. ‘Have you eaten?’
‘No.’
She sighed and drove on to the next service station, where Sam ate a double full English breakfast and she bought a paper, had coffee and did not try to chat.
Sam seemed to have grown taller in the weeks since she had seen him, and his face was thinner. He was indeed feral, his hair needed cutting with shears rather than scissors and he had a rather patchy beard. But he was here, safe, well, sitting opposite her and she did not now mind at all that he had got her out of bed before first light.
‘How’s Simon?’ she asked when his plate was finally empty and he was on his second mug of strong tea. Sam leaned back and gave a sigh.
‘That was great, thanks. Si … he’s OK. I think his arm bothers him a bit. He didn’t say so but you know.’
‘He’s due to get the new one fitted soon. Apart from that?’
‘Well, he must have told you about the woman who turned out to have been murdered, not a suicide.’
‘He never has to go far, does he? Is he actually investigating?’
Sam filled her in and talked about his own involvement with Sandy, but she was quickly aware that his eyes were red with tiredness and cut him short.
‘Tell me in the car. Or when we get back.’
As she pulled out to join the stream of motorway traffic, she saw him rest his head back. A minute later, he was asleep and slept until they arrived home.
There was an unfamiliar car in the drive and Kieron came to the front door as he heard them.
Sam was still rubbing his eyes and stretching, while Cat was beside her husband.
‘Your father’s here,’ he said.