Page 14 of No Safe Place
‘Could you give me a contact for someone I can call?’ Field asked quietly. ‘A friend of David’s or a family member, perhaps? We don’t want him to be on his own in the hospital.’
A moment of uncertainty, but then Penny disappeared into the house, leaving the door open.
She was back in under a minute, with a business card in hand. ‘David’s mentor.’
Penny thrust it into Field’s hand, nodded at Wilson – and then shut the door.
The whole thing had taken thirty minutes. It always threw her, how quick it was – turning someone’s life upside down.
Field and Wilson walked back to the car in silence, andZara followed, getting into the back for a quick debrief. No one spoke until all three car doors had slammed.
‘That was—’ Wilson hesitated. ‘Weird. Right?’
‘Shock?’ Zara said. ‘No part of her was expecting that news today.’
‘Well, they were getting divorced,’ Wilson said, craning her neck to look up at the house. ‘Maybe she secretly thinks he deserved it.’
Penny’s response had been muted, certainly. Not all victims’ families sank to the floor in spasms of anxiety.
Field turned in her seat. ‘Thanks for making it so quickly, Ayres.’
Zara smiled. ‘Of course, boss.’
It had felt unnatural earlier, calling Ayres by her first name – but it was important in front of the family.
Field’s use of surnames for her team was horribly old-fashioned, but a quirk she’d become known for, and secretly enjoyed. A hangover from having a military father, and hating her own first name.
Field chose her words carefully. ‘I’m surprised Penny doesn’t want to come to the hospital. It might be a tricky one, Zara – but I think you’ll need to persevere with her. Try and get her to open up.’
They had a quick chat about timings and logistics. Zara took the business card, and responsibility for contacting Dr Simon Dawes. Then she headed back to her own car, and Wilson started the engine.
Something about Penny made Field uneasy. The fact David had a ring on, but she didn’t. The long period of no contact – it was all a little odd.
She glanced back at the house as they pulled away. Closure had its role in all of Field’s cases. Families needed the closure of a perpetrator caught and imprisoned.
Field also knew about the closure of a divorce. The relief of it, when it was final.
As long as David pulled through, that was something Penny might still get to have.
Chapter 7
Wednesday | Afternoon
Lily
Lily had been awake for hours, curled in a ball next to the gently snoring form of her boyfriend.
Scott woke up slowly, arching his back and blinking himself into consciousness.
‘Morning,’ Scott said, his voice husky. He still had his eyes closed.
She shuffled closer to him. ‘Afternoon.’
He let out a low groan but smiled. ‘What time is it?’
‘Almost two o’clock,’ Lily answered, pushing his hair away from his sweaty forehead. ‘You got home so late last night, I thought you needed the rest.’
Scott stretched, reaching for the ceiling, and then draped a heavy arm over her.
