Page 84 of Dead to Me

Reid sighed.Of course Anna would keep going when she’d been told to stop.It was what she did.And of course it had got her into trouble.But not having the newspaper as backup didn’t mean everything was lost.

Reid messaged him back as succinctly as he could, telling him they should be looking on Ryan Jaffett’s spare phone for videos and images showing Esther Thomas with an older man.And then he sat back, trying not to think about the fact that it had been thirty-five hours and that they might no longer be looking for a kidnap victim but for a body.

Seaton appeared in the gap between the curtains just after the nurse had visited again with three hefty tablets, and Reid gave him a small smile.

‘I think I might owe you one for last night.Was that… did you pull a few strings to get me seen quicker?’

‘I didn’t want you dying on me,’ Seaton replied, slightly acerbically.‘It wouldn’t have helped at all with our efforts to find Anna.’

Reid couldn’t help smiling properly at that.‘Well… thank you.’

‘You don’t have a bleed on the brain, anyway,’ Seaton told him, coming to sit on the plastic-covered padded chair next to him.‘But you clearly did get a serious concussion.Did your attacker use a weapon?’

Reid tried to think back to the night before.‘I don’t think so.I think he just hit me really hard, and then I hit my head on the wall, too.’

Seaton nodded.‘Do you still think it was Kit Frankland?’

‘I… maybe.’He frowned, and then regretted it.Anything that moved the muscles of his face and eyes was a mistake.‘I might have freaked someone else out.It… I need to be there when they talk to Kit.’

Seaton gave him a long look, and then said, ‘I’ll get hold of the reg.You’ll need to be seen again before they discharge you.’

He returned to wait with Reid while the wheels were set in motion– Reid reflecting all over again what a different life it must be when you were Seaton Laws and always knew someone who could help you jump the queue.They fell into an awkward silence in which neither of them seemed to know what to say next.

Reid tried for a little light conversation after a minute.

‘So… how have things been, since I saw you last?I didn’t… get the chance to ask.’

Seaton gave a short laugh.‘Oh, they’re fine.Much as usual.’

Reid nodded, and then asked, ‘Garden going well?’

Seaton blinked at him.‘Yes.Ahhh… it’s fine.’

‘How are the gladioli coming on?’

‘Yes, very well.Very well.’

‘The colour must be wonderful at this time of year,’ Reid added.

‘Indeed!Quite varied.’There was another short silence, and then Seaton said, ‘Want a coffee or anything?’

33.Anna

After that, Reid, everything went to shit.And I think it might have been my fault.

Two days after we’d all dined at Restaurant Twenty-Two, with exactly one week left on the clock, James turned up at my door.I’d been hoping to see him in private but was struggling to find any excuse to be away from Kit.So the fact that James came by a few minutes after I was back from a rowing session (you have to keep up your cover in this job, Reid, even when your body is crying out for a rest) seemed like a godsend.

I quickly realised that he’d timed it on purpose, possibly even by hanging around near my house until I returned.There was something big that he needed to talk about, and it was coming off him in waves.

The downside to his timing was that I was both tired and sticky, and I didn’t want to sit inside with him and worry that I reeked of sweat.

‘Let’s sit on the green,’ I said instead.‘While it’s not raining.’

It was a humid, cloudy day, and a lot warmer than the last few.June has been pretty hit and miss in Cambridge this year.I guess it’s probably the same in London.I haven’t kept track so much.

‘Look, I don’t want to put you in a difficult position,’ James said, once we’d sat on the grass.His voice was tight.‘I’m not asking you to– well, you know.Betray Kit or… or any of the others.I don’t think Kit’s a bad person, even if he did what I think he might have done.Or even if he covered for someone else… It’s just… thenot knowingis really… it’s the worst.’He shook his head.‘It’s the worst.’

‘You want me to find out if he gave Holly drugs?’I asked him, bluntly.‘Or if he knows who did.’

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