Page 85 of The Girl in the Woods

‘Not big, I don’t think. He was taller than her. What if he saw me?’ she said nervously. ‘He might come looking for me.’

Ana stood up. ‘If you couldn’t identify him, then I doubt he could identify you either, or that he even saw you. But I’ll get someone to patrol around here at night. So keep the doors locked, and any punter who seems odd, don’t bother with him.’

Sharon stood up and hugged her. ‘Thanks for not judging,’ she whispered.

‘I’m in no position to judge,’ Ana said.

After notifying all the parents, Beth found herself more emotional than usual. Maybe it was memories of what had happened a year ago. So when Tom had offered the hot chocolate, it seemed the safest thing to do. She knew that otherwise, she would go home and finish the half bottle of Chardonnay that sat invitingly in her fridge.

‘It’s a good one. Belgian chocolate,’ he said as though talking about an expensive bottle of champagne.

She took the hot mug, inhaling its sweet aroma. The cottage hadn’t changed at all. The only thing missing was the photo of Tom’s wife.

He sat beside her on the couch, and she moved slightly as his hip touched hers.

‘Cheers,’ he said, touching her mug with his. ‘Lewis tells me you’re a trained firearms officer now.’

She sipped at the sweet liquid. ‘I don’t want to make any mistakes should there ever be a second time.’

He gently removed the mug from her hand. ‘You saved my life. That wasn’t a mistake, was it?’

She opened her mouth to reply, but his warm lips were on hers. The kiss was unexpected, and for a second, she didn’t respond, and then her arms were around his neck, and their bodies slipped easily into a passionate embrace. It was like the last two pieces of a jigsaw finding each other, and everything was finally perfect.

‘Stay,’ he whispered, the passion thick in his voice. ‘I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day I left.’

She pulled back gently. ‘I don’t want you to feel rushed,’ she said, taking his hand.

‘When have I ever done anything I didn’t want to do?’ He smiled.

She nodded. ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve…’ She hesitated.

‘I know,’ he said, pulling her into the warmth of his body. ‘Me too. It’ll be okay.’

The truth was Beth was terrified of being a disappointment. Lovemaking with Ben, she realised now, had been very different. ‘I don’t want to let you down,’ she said, not looking at him.

‘No chance of that.’ He smiled, and she relaxed.

That night, Beth realised what it was to be loved.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Ana was late for the briefing, but at least she didn’t look as hungover as some.

‘Sorry,’ she apologised.

‘Considering you did some off-duty work yesterday, Sergeant Rawlins, I think we can let you off,’ said Tom.

Ana took the empty seat next to Luke. He leaned across to her and whispered, ‘Mixing with tarts isn’t doing your reputation any good, you know.’

The anger and tension coursing through her body and lack of sleep made her lose it. ‘Fuck you,’ she said.

‘Christ, someone fell out of the wrong side of someone’s bed. It looks like you’ve been in the wars. Had to break up a bitch fight over a client, did you?’

Ana gritted her teeth and focused on DI Miller. She listened as he explained that no DNA was found on the card.

‘We’ve managed to get DNA from Laine’s clothes, but there was a lot of contact at the fair. We’re still checking the database for any matches.’

‘So, he wore gloves as usual,’ said Matt.

---