Page 184 of The Guilty Girl

She headed for the door.

‘Inspector Parker?’

‘Yes?’

‘I take back what I said. You’re nobody’s fool. You’re a bloody good detective.’

83

Lottie hated the airport. Vertigo always hit her when she had to drive to the upper level of the short-term car park.

As the evening closed in around her, she crossed the road to the arrivals hall. Late.

She saw them before they saw her. Standing to the right of the barrier. Father and son. No ex-wife in sight, thank God.

Pausing at a pillar, her eyes welled up. Sergio was the spitting image of his father. She studied Boyd. His skin was lightly tanned and healthy-looking. His hand rested on his son’s shoulder, two suitcases at their feet. She wanted to run over and hug him forever, but she had to be careful around the boy. She wasn’t his mother, and he’d only recently been introduced to his father, so she struggled to grasp how he’d react to her.

As she stood there, unable to move, Boyd caught sight of her, and his face lit up with a smile. She watched as Sergio shouldered his rucksack and Boyd picked up the two cases.

‘You’ve no idea how good it is to see you.’ He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

‘You’re a sight for sore eyes,’ she said, before turning to the boy. ‘You must be Sergio.’ She held out her hand. ‘I’m Lottie.’

‘Are you Papá’s boss?’

‘I am.’

‘Does it rain here all the time?’

‘Not today. The sun was shining earlier. Almost as warm as Malaga.’

‘Papá says he’ll have to buy me warm clothes.’ He turned to look up at Boyd. ‘When is Mamá joining us?’

Lottie noticed Boyd’s face flush. Ah no. Shit.

‘Not for a while,’ he said awkwardly. ‘She has things to sort out.’

‘Not for a good while, I hope?’ Lottie whispered into his ear.

‘It’s complicated,’ he said, and kissed her cheek again.

‘I’m no stranger to complicated. Let me carry one of those. Care to drive us home?’

‘Oh yes, I’ve missed driving.’ Before they moved off, Boyd took a jiffy bag from the rucksack. ‘I think you will find this of benefit in your case against Terry Starr.’

‘What is it?’

‘Detective Lopez gave it to me before I left. A small package was delivered to the McAllister apartment this morning. The police confiscated it. This is a copy of the USB that was in the package.’

‘Lucy.’ Lottie’s breath caught in her throat. ‘She managed to copy Terry’s hard drive. She was a brave girl.’

‘Small comfort to her parents, though.’ Boyd straightened. ‘Now, what planet did you park the car on?’

‘By the way, my mother is out of hospital and living with me for a while.’

‘Seems like you have a lot to tell me.’

‘I sure have.’ Lottie linked her free arm through Boyd’s and felt whole again. ‘Hey, Sergio, do you like McDonald’s?’

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