She disappeared as quickly as she’d turned up. A short pause fell between them.
“Good to meet you today, Dan. And now it’ll definitely be memorable.”
Marcus let Daniel chuckle without joining in.
“Hope you don’t mind me sticking around?” said Dan, pulling up a chair. “I’ve got bugger all else to do. Not back on duty until tomorrow. But I’m having a pint with some of the lads later.”
“Had it been my choice, I’d have preferred a chat over a pint too, but I suppose here’s as good a place as any. So where shall we begin? Maybe you could go first. Anyone special in your life since school?”
Marcus couldn’t be sure, but he thought he noticed a slight flicker of sadness cross Dan’s face before he paused to consider.
“I did. Zane. Six years ago. Fellow copper, different unit. Unlike me, though, he wasn’t out, so difficult doesn’t even begin to explain our relationship. But let me tell you, it’s tough being with someone who refuses to put even one foot out of the closet. Spent most of our time together either in his flat or mine, watching cable movies, eating takeout and drinking beers, followed by nights of pretty amazing sex. But being indoors all the time gets old fast. Wouldn’t even entertain the idea of a movie night at the cinema in case he got spotted with me. Final straw came when we went to the other side of the planet on holiday together—San Francisco—and he wouldn’t even let me touch him in public. No way to live a life.”
“I’m really sorry.”
Daniel shrugged, but the experience had clearly affected him. “Since then, nobody special. Threw myself into my career instead.”
“You and me both. You ever see him? Zane?”
“Couple of times. Even though it was the right decision, you can’t just turn off your heart. The couple of times we’ve run into each other—usually some official meeting or another—my stomach goes into a tailspin. So how about you? Anyone special?”
“Nah. An occasional roll in the hay, but no keepers.”
“You and Tom Bradford seem pretty tight.”
“Come off it, Dan,” said Marcus, but Tom’s instant of vulnerability earlier had confused him. “He’s got enough on his plate right now. Taken on a whole lot of strife since Raine died.”
“You fancy him, though, don’t you? I can tell by the way you look at him.”
“He’s family. But I once told Raine that if he’d had a gay twin brother, I’d be the first in line.”
Once again they both fell silent.
“Talking of Raine, you obviously remembered the crash that took her life.”
“Difficult to forget.”
“At the time, she was traveling with a man called Damian Stone.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. At first Tom thought she might have been having a fling with the guy. But that’s not the case. They attended the same yoga class. But then they died on the M25, nowhere near the yoga school. I still keep asking myself why.”
“Sometimes we don’t really know those closest to us.”
“You’re not a fan of radio chat shows, are you?”
“Huh?”
“Sorry. In-joke between Tom and I. Yes, I’ve heard that people close to us can turn out to be a total mystery. But you know me, and I did know Raine. She would never do anything like that. She had too much to lose.”
“But the mystery remains. What was she doing in the car with this guy?”
“Exactly. Tom said just let it go.”
“Wise words. Nothing’s going to bring her back.”
“Yeah, Tom said that too.”
