Snapshots IV
The first case Lynley took on after Helen's death also stopped his drinking binge, but got him arrested and charged with murdering his friend's daughter. Barbara found it hard to understand Michelle Tate, the detective who was intent on believing Tommy was the killer, wondering if there was something personal in it. She knew of his past history of sleeping his way through the ranks of the Met women, and Tate was certainly attractive. Someday, she thought she'd ask him, but she risked her career to do everything he asked, all of which cleared him. She was nearly killed by the real murderer, and this shook Tommy, almost losing her again. "You've got to stop doing this!" he'd said, "My nerves can't take another episode of you risking your life." She remembered leaning into him when he hugged her, a hug that was longer and more tender than in the past. When she suggested a drink, as one or the other always did at the end of a case, he agreed, though he ordered club soda. But they sat together at the pub, eating chips and chatting, like old times. And in the weeks that followed, they seemed to go back to old patterns, having a drink after work and, often, dinner. He moved out of the house he'd bought for Helen, and back to the large flat where Barbara had learned to feel comfortable. She smiled inwardly to think of anyone owning more than one place to live in London – plus Howenstowe, his home in Cornwall. Ah, the nobility.
In what she always thought of as their "last case", the last, that is, before all the changes in their lives, they came very close to ending their friendship. She could see, eventually, that she'd been blinded by an abused woman, her bruises at the hands of her husband making Barbara totally sympathetic. She and Lynley argued loudly about his seeing the wife as at least as guilty as the husband of kidnapping, raping and killing young girls. When Barbara suddenly saw the evil side of the woman, and told Lynley "you don't have to convince me," his relief was palpable – they were again on the same side. After they'd arrested the wife, they started to watch the tapes she had made of each of their "conquests". Barbara couldn't bear to watch them, but she was aware of the way her boss stared at her. As they left the police station, she confronted him. "Why are you looking at me that way? You're either grinning at me or staring at me in a way that could burn a hole in my cheek. What's the matter with you?" He touched her arm and turned her to face him. "The matter with me is that I can't stop looking at you. I can't bear it when you walk away, when you aren't with me." "What?" she had asked and that one word seemed to open the floodgates. He told her he was in love with her, had been for a long time, even when he was with Helen. He tried to work on his marriage, but he kept finding that he was only happy when he was with her, Barbara. This was very hard for her to hear; she had felt guilty enough about her love for another woman's husband. She could still see her hesitation, but he assured her that Helen had not known, and, he asked, could she please respond to his statement?
(This is the end of snapshots, but should lead right into any number of stories, including one from the past that I'm about to post. Thank you for all your comments!)