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"Soh"

"Why?"

"We get called in precisely because they’re iht everything a policeman did was serious"

"It is"

"Then I don’t see--"

"Eat your fish, Sa theht need , if it’s very difficult They ht need us because their own resources are beco forbehind a desk The higher you get in rank, the easier it is to get trapped in an office all day"

"In Australia, the police wear fleeces and baseball caps"

"Ever seen your uncle in a baseball cap, Sam?"

"He’d be cool"

"This," Hannah said, "is blah-blah boring talk"

"Go to bed, then You shouldn’t be at grown-up supper if you get bored with grown-up conversation, you should be playing puke pink Barbies"

Cat sighed The bickering between her son and daughter had got worse in Australia

Wondering now if it was to be a permanent and tiresome feature of their relationship, she turned to her own brother "Did ind each other up like this?"

"No Ivo wound me up I wound Ivo up Not you"

Cat had spent two separate periods with their triplet brother, orked as a flying doctor in Australia, and had coht well not be related at all Ivo seemed to be from a different planet He was brash, stubborn, opinionated, tough She had left him both times with relief and some bewilderment

"Dad," she said now, her fork to herat me Ivo is like Dad"

"Could have told you that," Chris said

After the children had gone to bed, they opened another bottle and Mephisto the cat buh the flap and settled on Si in his house?"

"Apparently he was absolutely fine"

"Traitor," Si him Mephisto half closed his eyes "How have they settled back to school?"

"Hannah strolled in as if she’d never been away Saroups so he’s lost some of his old friends and there are new boys … but he’ll be fine It’s sport, sport, sport noay--he was rarely within four walls all the time ere in Sydney"

"You?"

"Oh, I ithin four walls Chris and I orking, you know"

"Iback"

"Good Great in fact"

"OKish," Chris said He had been the one to press for them to take the sabbatical in Australia, the one who had extended it froinal six months The one who had been loath to return "But at least we’ve co nition"

"You hts, no weekends, no bank holidays Jolly nice--I take your point"

Cat groaned "Si, this is an area where angels fear to tread We’ve had so uments about it we’ve made a pact: Chris and I don’t discuss the new GP contract"

Cat had always been bitterly opposed to agencies covering nights and weekends for the practice, other than on a locuive her and Chris an occasional rest She had coht to visit her own patients out of hours, only to discover that not only was Chris against their taking that work back in-house, but so was every other GP in the area It was impossible for her to do out-of-hours by herself and so, resentfully, she had had to concede defeat

"For now," she hadmy patients to the e cost to cover a few nights here or even worse, someone on call froht, it is also over-stretching the a hospital A & E and it is not conducive to patient welfare and peace of ry

She and Chris had agreed to go back to work and accept the status quo, focusing on catching up with changes and reacquainting themselves with patients, staff and all the routine of a busy surgery

"Seen a lot of Dad?" Cat asked now

Simon made a face "Took him out to a pub lunch a couple of ti to Hallam House now"

"I know you do, but with us away and no Mum he needed you a lot more"

"Not so’s you’d notice I took flowers up to Martha’s grave on her anniversary I rang Dad--thought we could meet up He wasn’t in He never ht about Martha since she died Or about Mother come to that"

"That’s unfair, Simon"

"Is it?"

Simon had been close to Martha, their handicapped sister, close to Meriel, their mother Their deaths had been two blows from which he knew he had not recovered and probably never would

It was easier for Cat She had Chris, she had three children and she had escaped to Australia

Escaped? He looked at his sister now, curled in the sagging kitchen arlass of wine She looked well But to call it an escape--for her--rong He knew that if Chris had not pushed, she would never have left Lafferton Cat was like him, a home bird She seemed entirely settled and content to be back in the far Mephisto until the cat’s purr was like the throbbing of an engine He realised exactly how miserable his months without the sanctuary of this house and this fah of contentment

Four

She didn’t have ti at tables or standing near the bar--because as she went inside he was there, saying, "Helen? Yes, of course you’re Helen Let’s get out of here, it’s packed, this was a thoroughly bad idea"

And he took her elbow and guided her through the door Outside it was a war with fairy lights

It had taken ten days She had sent hiot one back It felt right She was coested they meet at this pub in the centre of Lafferton She hadn’t known it, but both Elizabeth and Tom had said, "Oh, that place is OK You’ll be fine there" So here she was

"Let’s get right out of Lafferton Do you know the Croxley Oak? The food is good so it won’t be empty but we should be able to hear ourselves think"

"Shall I follow you then?"

"What? No, no, I’ll drive us back here, you can pick up your car later"

It wasn’t the plan but she ept along by hi the seat belt and then off, out of town, on the road, heading soree The country road was dark Once, a car overtook thele" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>