Page 41 of Not in a Million Years

Quickly, Daniel summarised the detective work we’d done trailing round hotels. ‘And then we showed your picture at this swanky resort on the edge of town, and they recognised you.’

Andy’s face paled slightly, so the yellow tinge of his skin looked almost khaki. ‘Oh. They remembered me, did they?’

I nodded. ‘And they told us where to find Ash – I guess they thought wherever she was, you’d be too. So we went there this morning.’

‘You spoke to Ash?’ Andy asked. The bright flippancy he’d maintained up until that point seemed to be draining away pretty rapidly. I wondered whether it was because he was in pain, or something else.

‘We spoke to Ash,’ Daniel confirmed. ‘She made a bunch of calls, and because she speaks Turkish, she found out pretty quickly from the police that you’d totalled the car, and from the state hospital that you’d been moved from there to here. So we came right away.’

‘And a right pair of guardian angels you are too. Did Ash – did she say anything to you about what happened?’

‘Just that you two had had a row,’ I said. ‘She told us you’d said you didn’t want to see her again – that’s why she didn’t come.’

‘Can’t say I blame her, if I’m honest,’ Andy said. ‘Let’s just say what happened between us – well, it wasn’t my finest hour.’

‘You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,’ I said, putting my hand on his.

‘Main thing is for you to get better,’ Daniel said.

Then the door opened and Hakan bustled in, saying that it was time for Andy’s medication, and that the physiotherapist would be along straight after that.

‘Oh God, not that bloody woman,’ Andy said. ‘I bet she beats Conservative politicians with paddles in her spare time.’

Clearly, Hakan was already used to Andy’s little ways. ‘If you want to get home, we have to get you mobile, Mr Sinclair. You know that.’

‘So you say.’ Andy sighed theatrically. ‘All right. Hand over the good shit and then summon Mistress Whiplash. Are you two going to bugger off home now you’ve reassured yourselves I’m not going to be boiled down for cat food just yet?’

‘Of course not,’ Daniel said. ‘We’re going to stay until you’re fit to come home with us. Aren’t we, Kate?’

I gawped at him. We were? He and I? Staying here for what could become a matter of weeks, together?

Andy, I noticed, was gawping too.

‘Hold the phone,’ he said. ‘You two, together in a romantic hotel – don’t raise your eyebrows at me, Katie babe; I know you wouldn’t have booked a Premier Inn unless the only alternative was sleeping in a tent – until I’m better and can go home? Wow, you must really like me.’

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I think you can take my word for that.’

Fifteen

Daniel and I didn’t say much to each other on the drive back to the hotel.

He remarked that it was a relief to find Andy in one piece at least, and I agreed. I said it was such a good thing he’d taken out travel insurance, because without it he’d have been stuffed, and Daniel half-joked that as someone who derived much of their income from insurance firms, I would say that, wouldn’t I. Then he said something about the afternoon seeming to be getting even hotter, and I agreed that it only really seemed to start cooling down once the sun had set.

And then we lapsed into silence and stayed that way for the remainder of the journey, until Daniel reversed into a parking space, opened the door and pointed out that we were here. I thanked him for doing the driving, and together we climbed the stairs to our separate rooms and opened our separate doors.

‘See you later, Kate.’

‘See you.’

I entered the cool of my room and immediately stripped off my clothes. Without even pausing to check on my sunburn, I lay down on the bed, arms and legs extended like a starfish, and fell asleep almost immediately.

I was woken by a familiar, discreet tap on the door.

Shit. My watch told me it was seven in the evening – I’d slept for more than two hours. My mouth tasted sour and my body felt sticky. I snatched a towel from the bathroom and wrapped it hastily around myself before opening the door, just a crack, enough to accept my delivery of bottled water from the waiter.

But it wasn’t the guy with the water. It was Daniel, carrying a bottle of wine and a bag of pistachio nuts. He looked at me in surprise. ‘Been asleep?’

I nodded. ‘Like I said, I didn’t sleep last night. How about you?’

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