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There was an aard silence as Moss came back with a round of drinks She took them off the tray and placed them on the table John came over

‘Peterson, do you want to double up with me and Crawford and play air hockey?’

‘Yeah, sure,’ he said He took his drink and gave Erika an aard s a gulp of her lager

‘It has to be the cottage at the quarry,’ said Erika tracing a pattern in the condensation of her glass ‘Whoever grabbed her had so little time, and there was a here she could have been kept in the cellar She could have been buried there first’

‘And forensics are going to excavate it,’ said Moss ‘We have to be patient’

‘I want to talk to Crawford properly tomorrow The problem when you don’t take people seriously is that you don’t notice theinal case, and I sort of let it slide’

‘Don’t beat yourself up, Boss’

‘If that tooth doesn’t co to Jessica, I’m fucked Even if it does, I have to prove she was killed by a man with no prior violent behaviour, who died twenty-six years ago’

‘If it was hi the prison service,’ said Moss They sat and drank their lager in silence for a moment

‘Sorry, Boss Wasn’t funny’

‘That’s okay We should be trying to unwind for a couple of hours I’m not much fun’

‘You’re never much fun, Boss It’s what I like about you There’s no pressure to have fun I can bea hell of a lot of wrinkles I look three years younger frohed

‘Dammit, here coan to ring and she pulled it out saying, ‘This is Celia, will you excuse me’

Erika nodded, and squeezed out of the booth and went to the bathroo on the closed lid of the toilet she took a deep breath She felt guilty that she was out having fun, when Jessica Collins killer was still out there on the loose Guilty that she had lost her grip of the investigation She also felt guilty that Peterson had been flirting with her… Was that flirting? Or was he just being funny? And did she hope that he was flirting?

‘You need to get a grip,’ she said to herself out loud

‘What?’ ca, sorry,’ she muttered Erika pulled out her phone and saw the two more voicemails from the withheld number, ‘what the hell?’ She nal She sat for a fewand the hand dryer whirring

Her ain to Jessica Collins She’d be thirty-three if she was still alive What if Jessica hadn’t gone to that birthday party all those years ago? She could have just stayed home Or left the house a few minutes later…She could be one of those wo the Who Wants to be a Millionaire Machine? and laughing with her friends

And then she thought about her past What if she and Mark had decided to stay in bed the fateful day of the drug raid? Her life would be so different She’d be out in a bar with hio hoht out and their day… I’ht But I’m only forty-four… I could have children, couldn’t I? I’ve heard of worabbed at the toilet roll holder and pulled out a wad of tissue, dabbed at her eyes and o home Three drinks was her limit