Page 101 of No Safe Place
‘Hey,’ she said, slowly. ‘You okay?’
‘I’m out-of-my-head anxious,’ he said, with a laugh. He dropped the book onto the table and pushed it as far away as he could reach. ‘How’re you?’
‘You seem better.’
Cal’s smile slipped. ‘Lil?’
She was tearing up. It was stupid, and selfish – but the sight of him reading a book was going to make her cry. She did a big sniff, pressing the heel of her hand to her nose. ‘Hay fever.’
‘O-kay.’ Callum folded his arms.
She’d made it awkward.
‘What book is it?’
‘It’s a Vonnegut. Maxwell is a fan too. I don’t think I’ve taken a word of it in. Just stared at the same sentence over and over.’ His tone was conciliatory.
Maybe it was the side effects, or the lack of sleep. Or maybe she was just a bitch.
Because she wasn’t happy to see him reading. She felt jealous.
How many years had she spent trying to help him? Christ – how many years had David tried? Ten minutes on this ward, with this new doctor, and he was tackling one of his biggest compulsions.
He didn’t need her. Maybe he never had.
Chapter 70
Saturday | Afternoon
Field
‘Zara? Can you hear me?’
Field waited, then heard a sliding door open.
‘Can you hear me now?’ Zara asked.
‘Yeah, that’s better.’ Field accepted her coffee from the barista, and moved away from the noisy coffee machine. ‘How’s Penny doing?’
‘She’s okay,’ Zara said. ‘She’s actually been talking today. What time will you be here?’
Field grimaced.
Wilson took her cup from the server with a smile, and came over to stand next to Field, avoiding the many prams and toddlers in her path.
Riley had promised that he’d have an address for Andrew Levey inside the hour, so they’d stopped at a little caff in Erith, just for a breather. Wilson had tapped away, typing up the notes from her daybook, while Field composed a detailedupdate for the super. It shouldn’t have taken her as long as it had, but it took a lot of edits to tone down her obvious dislike.
‘I don’t think we’re going to make it there today.’ Field walked outside and scanned the tables on the pavement for a spare seat. ‘Depends on how it goes with Andrew Levey, when we find him.’
The only free table was covered in dirty plates and mugs, but it’d have to do.
‘I can let her know,’ Zara said.
Field appreciated that there was no sulk in her tone. ‘What have you been chatting about? Anything useful?’
Wilson was stacking the plates and tidying the table, to make it easier for the servers. Thoughtful, but annoying.
‘Well.’ Zara lowered her voice. ‘She admitted to me this morning that she knew Callum had been at the trial. Partly because David was still treating him, but also because of the book.’
