Page 108 of No Safe Place
Field grinned. ‘I told you not to go for the fresh divorcees.’
Young’s face stayed deadpan. ‘They’d split five years ago.’
Field snorted. ‘Well, you do know how to pick them.’
Young’s voice dropped to a whisper. ‘I can’t move for, like, twenty-eight-year-olds.’
‘What?’ Field’s mouth fell open. ‘You can’t date someone younger than your son. Your mother-in-law could be, well. Our age.’
‘I know, I know.’ Young put a hand on her chest. ‘I don’t talk to them. It’s just – you know. A nice ego boost.’
Field snorted again.
‘So—’ Young took a deep breath. ‘Toby called me.’
For one bizarre moment, Field thought it was an extension of their previous conversation. That her son was betraying his boyfriend of five years, to flirt with a woman who had been like a second mother.
‘Toby called you?’ she repeated, blinking.
Young threw her hands up. ‘Don’t be mad at him. Please don’t fly off the handle—’
‘Fly off the handle? When have I everflown off the handle?’ Field’s voice was rising.
‘He’s just worried—’
Field spoke over her. ‘When? When did he call you?’
‘This morning.’ Young spoke quickly. ‘He’s just worried about you. It’s not like we discussed you at length or anything. He just wanted—’
‘Worried about me?’ Field screwed her face up in exaggerated confusion. ‘I haven’t seen him since Wednesday night.’
‘I know—’
‘Why didn’t he say anything when I called him on Friday?’ Field shot back. ‘Why didn’theask me for a drink tonight?’
She felt drunk with anger, like she’d downed the whole bottle, not a few sips. Her pulse was thundering in her ears, the ache behind her eyes getting worse – and only pissing her off more.
Young was going red, and the old blokes at the bar were staring now. One had a crisp frozen halfway to his face.
‘I just think—’
Field cut her off again. ‘He’s so worried about me, he decided to skip speaking to me altogether, and go straight to one of my work colleagues, did he?’
At this Young scoffed, and rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, come on, Liz. I’m hardly acolleagueam I? We’ve known each other twenty years.’
‘And we’re working a fucking murder investigation together, Debbie.’ Field was shouting now.
I need to leave.
If she didn’t get out soon, she was going to say something she regretted. She grabbed her phone and swung her bag up onto her shoulder.
Young had flopped back into the booth seat, clutching her wine to her chest, eyes closed.
The defeat on her face took some of the heat out of Field’s anger. But not enough to stop her turning on her heel and marching out of the pub.
Chapter 75
Sunday | Midnight
