CHAPTER 69

Barb walked around the mangrove track, wondering if they were on the verge of a breakthrough. Her phone pinged. Dennis again.

How are you going with things?

She stared at it. What did that even mean? What ‘things’? Was there a subtext? If so, what? That he still cared? That he felt guilty? That he missed her? That he was alone and bored and wanted to text someone? Or was it just a bland enquiry into her welfare?

How should she respond? Great!! Never better!? Make him feel like he was missing out. Or was that too transparent? Lonely and missing you? Definitely not. Neediness pushed people away. Besides, whilst that answer had been true for the last few months, was it still true now? Sometimes, definitely. Right now? Not really.

All good here. You?

That seemed neutral. As she walked, she couldn’t stop herself checking her phone for a reply every few minutes.

Eventually, anticlimactically, it came.

Fine thanks

Her tyres deflated. No point replying to that. She wondered if his flurry of texts – well, three in a day – was an indication that he was regretting his decision to leave. Would he eventually tire of Ellen and want to return? If he did, would she take him back? Could things between them ever return to normal after what he had done? Could they find comfort and peace again, or would she be forever sniffing his shirts to check for perfume?

If she did take him back, would that mean she was weak? Apparently Beyoncé’s husband cheated, and they were still together, not to mention Hillary Clinton, and they were both feminist icons, weren’t they?

She imagined him begging her. ‘I’ve been a fool. Please!’

How would she respond? If the alternative was being alone, perhaps it was worth a try. But she was getting ahead of herself. He hadn’t asked.

She wondered how Seb was getting on. Had she made a mistake in leaving him alone with Joe’s computer backup, potentially a vital piece of evidence? He was, technically, a suspect. If he did have something to hide, could he tamper with those computer filey thingies?

It was hard not to get mixed up when he was both her nice, sensible crime-investigating partner and someone who could have killed Joe.

Another ping. Seb.

Have discovered podcast recordings that were deleted from Joe’s computer!