Page 56 of The Girl in the Woods

Luke grinned. ‘If you ever need a drinking companion, just let me know.’

‘Actually, I only just dropped in on my way back. I’ve been checking out the neighbourhood.’

Luke laughed. ‘I bet that didn’t take long.’

‘I checked out the journey from Stonesend to Summertown.’

Luke put down his pint. ‘You’re not still on about that hit and run, are you?’

Ana noticed that Luke’s cheeky grin had now disappeared.

‘I was wondering, did you check the CCTV camera at Bladon on the A44? Only it’s not mentioned in the files.’

Luke frowned. ‘To be honest, I can’t remember. I imagine we must have. It will be in the evidence somewhere.’ He took another swig from his beer.

‘I checked all the CCTV recordings. I didn’t see it.’

‘Most likely a new one, then. They’re throwing the things up all the time.’

‘There was also a garage CCTV–’

‘What are you after exactly?’ Luke glared at her. ‘A promotion or something? I notice that you’re always crawling into the boss’s office.’

Ana took a sip of her drink. ‘I’m doing my job, that’s all.’

‘No, you’re looking into someone else’s investigation, and that’s a bit of an insult,’ he said. ‘I did a good job. If there had been someone to be found for knocking over Vanessa, I would have found them. This is a close-knit community. Everybody knows Vanessa. We didn’t make any mistakes.’

‘I’m not saying anyone did a bad job. I like her and–’

‘We all like her, so we worked hard to find the bugger who knocked her over, but…’ He sighed. ‘Look,’ he said wearily, his voice softening, ‘I think you and I have got off on the wrong foot. I have some personal issues and may have been over-defensive.’

I don’t give a fuck about your issues, Ana thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held his hand up to stop her.

‘Not your problem, I know, but maybe I was dismissive. If you think I missed something, then fair enough. Let’s at least work together on it.’

You worked so hard on it that you missed one security camera and one CCTV camera, thought Ana. If there was one thing Ana hated, it was lazy cops, but the least she could do was to be gracious. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,’ she lied.

‘No hard feelings.’ Luke seemed to have calmed down.

‘Good. See you tomorrow,’ she said, finishing her drink and standing up.

‘Sure. I’ll go through all the evidence.’

Ana nodded in response. ‘Thanks.’

‘Mates?’ asked Luke.

‘Mates.’ She smiled while thinking, Only mates.

‘Bye, Jack,’ she called.

Jack waved. ‘See yer,’ he said.

Ana knew Luke thought she was a pain in the arse, which was why she had bought the drinks. He most likely saw her as a threat. Maybe I am, she thought with a smile.

Laine passed people carrying branded shopping bags and sipping on-the-go coffees. That’s what I want, she thought. Not just now but always.

‘I could do with one of those,’ said Jassy, eyeing up the coffee. ‘I’m parched.’

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