A/N: Part four! The final part will be up the middle of next week (going away so I can't get it done sooner, sorry) and the companion will follow shortly after!
Smiling, Jo wrapped her arm around Lorna's waist and looked her into her eyes. 'Are you okay?'
Her lover nodded, closing the small gap between them to kiss her gently. 'Are you?'
'Oh, I've definitely been worse,' Jo answered. She was, despite her best efforts, beginning to think about everything outside of their little cocoon, and she thought from the look on Lorna's face that she was doing the same. It was a pity the exclusion of everything couldn't last just a little bit longer but apparently that was too much to ask. Besides, they had to come to decisions, really think about what was going to happen next. After squeezing Lorna's hand, Jo shuffled upright. 'Is it okay if I have a quick shower? Didn't get a chance this morning.'
'Course, go ahead. We've got a little time before I have to pick Sarah up.'
They almost sounded like an old married couple, Jo thought with an inward smile. That idea didn't scare her as much as she'd thought it might, especially considering that she and Lorna hadn't actually had what could be constituted as an official date yet. Slipping out of the bed, she said, 'I don't want to ruin the moment but… Well, we need to work out what we're gonna do.'
Her face fading a little, Lorna inclined her head. 'I know. You go shower, I'll put the kettle on and I'll see you in the kitchen.'
Feeling a pang of guilt for forcing Lorna to confront the whole mess again, Jo proceeded to shower, enjoying the warmth of the water against her skin. It was a poor substitute for the warmth of Lorna's body against her own, but it was some consolation at least.
After dressing, she was towelling her hair dry when she heard the doorbell below. Quickly leaving the towel, she moved out onto the landing and heard Lorna conversing with another voice, one she distinctly recognised.
Hurrying down the stairs, she satisfied her curiosity as to who was at the door when she saw precisely who Lorna was showing into the kitchen. Frowning, Jo went in there herself. 'Ramani?' she questioned.
Her old colleague turned, evidently surprised. 'Jo? What are…' Trailing off, she glanced over to Lorna. 'Are you two together?'
'No,' Lorna muttered at the same time as Jo said, 'Yes.' Slightly embarrassed, she added, 'Well, let's say we're still working on that. I suppose you're here in a professional capacity?'
'Yeah, I'm afraid so.'
Looking to Lorna, Jo found (to her dismay) more than a degree of resignation resting on her face. The one thing she couldn't do was give up. Jo couldn't let that happen. 'Alright, let's just sit down then, okay? I'll make a cuppa.'
When the other two settled at the table, she busied herself with the kettle, still listening intently as Ramani began, 'the complainant alleges that Sarah isn't safe with you at the moment. Even in the interim while…'
'While they decide whether I'm guilty of bashing my ex-husband around the head,' Lorna interjected and Jo winced at her harsh tone.
Ramani sighed. 'I realise this is difficult for you.'
'No, I'm not sure you do. My daughter isn't in any danger, DS de Costa, and I resent the implication that she is.'
'I understand that…'
'You don't,' Lorna interrupted. 'I've worked very hard to make sure that what I've done in my life hasn't harmed my daughter. That's the main reason I left her father in the first place. And the very idea that I would jeopardise her welfare by attacking him is ridiculous! Let alone the idea that I would actually hurt her!'
Forgetting the tea, Jo moved over and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. 'It's okay.'
Nodding, Lorna took a few moments to control the level of her breathing. 'You're welcome to come back when Sarah's home and discuss this with her. I've got nothing to hide and I wish everyone would stop assuming that I had.'
Obviously- and rightly- uncomfortable, Ramani asked, 'What time will Sarah be home from school?'
'In about an hour,' Lorna replied.
'Well, I'll see you then. It doesn't matter about the tea, Jo. I can see myself out.'
Squeezing Lorna's shoulder, Jo followed her old friend out into the hallway. 'Ramani?'
She turned. 'What?'
'Who was the complainant?'
Ramani exhaled. 'You know I can't tell you that. It's more than my job's worth.'
'Alright, fair enough,' she conceded. 'But if I was to tell you who it was… You could just not correct me.' When Ramani merely shrugged, she continued, 'Pat McMartin?'
Going to the door, Ramani glanced back over her shoulder. 'I'm not saying no.'
After closing the door, Jo went back into the kitchen. 'Mother and son are obviously in it together.'
Lorna was watching her clasped hands. 'I can't sit here doing nothing. But there isn't anything I can do, is there?'
Unable to respond to that, Jo simply sat down opposite her. 'Look, I doubt that getting assaulted was part of Alex's master plan, not the state he's in now because of it. So we have to assume that he's just using it to his advantage. Which mean working out what his original plan was. What was he getting out of all the photos etc?'
Slowly, Lorna raised her eyes. 'What photos?'
Suddenly, Jo recognised she hadn't mentioned Alex's hoard of photos of his daughter before this. Pushing back her chair, she turned away, not overly eager to look at Lorna while she was explaining this. 'When we examined his laptop we found two hundred or so pictures of Sarah, dating back a few months. There's nothing indecent,' she added quickly. 'It just looks as though he's been…'
When she faltered, Lorna concluded, in a strange voice, 'Following her.'
'There's no evidence that he's gone anywhere near her,' Jo said, involuntarily turning around. The look of detached anger on Lorna's face made her cringe. 'I didn't want to worry you, that's why I didn't tell you.'
Standing suddenly, the Scot shook her head. 'You had no right to make that decision.'
'Yeah, I know that but…'
'I'd like you to leave.'
'Oh, Lorna!'
'Jo… Go.'
Sighing, she stopped long enough to collect her bag from the living room before going to her car parked on the street. Dropping into the seat, she slammed the door in frustration.
Samantha Nixon had been right on one count she supposed- she was too close to this. Otherwise she never would've lost herself and mentioned Alex's photograph collection, a fact she'd promised herself that Lorna didn't need to be aware of. It was too… Well, what was it? Was it for Lorna's benefit or her own that she hadn't wanted to bring it up? Maybe it was half because she hadn't wanted to see Lorna's fear. Maybe that was it. Maybe she was just a coward.
Drawing in a deep breath she recognised this was doing no one any good. Starting the engine, she drove to a quiet spot a few streets away and parked up again. Pulling out her phone, she hesitated and then dialled.
Mickey answered on the fourth ring. 'Jo?'
'Hiya,' she replied, biting down on her lip. 'How're things?'
'How's Lorna?' he retorted.
'I'm not with her at the moment, Mickey, okay? I'm asking as a copper.'
He audibly sighed. 'You're off the case.'
'Alright, so just let me bandy a few ideas about. You can't object to that.'
'Go on,' he said finally.
'Lorna mentioned that Alex used to work with a Greg. Could be Anderson and they could still be friends. You need to look into that. Then there's the location of the weapon. It's a secluded area which suggests that the attacker knows the area. Now, you'll say that Lorna knows the area, and you're right, but it could also mean that he had to do a dry run, a bit of research if he didn't know the area. So check the cameras for the surrounding area for earlier than evening. And Alex is lying in his statement. The reason he's now pointing the finger at Lorna is because he's somehow clocked she was the one under suspicion. He's been onto his mum who's been onto the Child Protection Team; he's trying to get custody, that's all.'
When she finished, Mickey let out his breath. 'He might've got the idea that Lorna was a suspect from when I spoke to him at the hospital. It wasn't deliberate but…'
'Have you mentioned that to the DI?'
'No, of course I haven't!'
'Mickey! This isn't your job on the line- it's Lorna's life!'
'You do know there's every chance she's lying, don't you?'
'I understand why you think that,' Jo answered carefully. 'But you have to admit, the fact that he changed his story's a bit dodgy.'
'Yeah, fair enough,' he conceded. 'Listen, I'll look into it, okay? But I'm not promising anything. The DI reckons we've got our woman.'
'Did you find any CCTV where the weapon was dumped?'
'We'll probably never find the vehicle that dumped it.'
'Right… But you combed the site where it was found?'
'Jo, we're not amateurs, you know.'
'I know that but… Well, you must've missed something, that's all.'
'I've said I'll do what I can,' Mickey replied. 'Best leave me to it, eh?'
'Yeah… Mickey?'
'Mmm?'
'I didn't lie to you. What happened with me and Lorna started during the investigation, not before. And maybe you were right; maybe I should've stepped back. But I didn't and now I can't. I won't just leave her with this.'
'You're that sure she's innocent?'
'I am, yeah.'
Unsure what she was looking for, Jo aimlessly circled the waste area a few times before going back and examining the ground around the skip where she assumed the candlestick had been dumped; it was the only one in the vicinity anyway. While she was on her knees, looking at what could've been a drop of blood but which turned out to be ketchup from a kebab, she heard a throat clearing behind her.
Immediately alert, she turned then exhaled in relief. 'You scared me half to death. What are you doing here?'
'Received a call about someone acting suspiciously,' Diane answered, crossing her arms. 'You?'
She shrugged. 'Just doing my bit. You on your own?'
'Tony's driving around the block. What are you doing, Jo?'
'Trying to clear Lorna's name. And I'm not getting very far. There's gotta be something I'm missing here.'
Di held out a hand to help her up. 'Maybe there's nothing to find. I'm not saying she's guilty but…'
'There's something to find,' she interrupted. 'I'm sure of it.'
Sighing, her friend nodded. 'Okay,' she said, indicating the skip, 'that's where the weapon was found. The only way a car could get in here is via the entrance we came in and we've examined the area around for footprints but there wasn't anything noticeable.'
Frowning, Jo glanced around the large waste ground. It was hemmed in on all sides by old battered railings which were overgrown with brambles. 'Have you thoroughly checked the whole area?'
'Well, we had a quick look but…'
'That's a no then.' Going over to the perimeter, Jo began following the railings around. 'There's a chance he could've got in around here somewhere. On foot rather than by car. It's a lot less noticeable. And you didn't find any tyre tracks, did you?'
'No,' Diane admitted. When Jo's mobile started ringing, she said, 'You get that. I'll start at the other side.'
Smiling gratefully, she answered her phone. 'Hello?'
'Hi, Jo. It's Ramani. I just wondered if you knew where Lorna was. She's not at home and I thought she would be by now.'
Checking her watch, Jo replied, 'Yeah, I'd have thought she would be as well. Maybe there's been some traffic.'
'I'll wait a little while,' Ramani said. 'But I do need to speak to Sarah as soon as possible.'
'Yeah, of course. I'll get back to you if I hear anything,' Jo said, pocketing her phone again.
Continuing to follow the railings round she was having no luck until Diane called her over with, 'I think I've found something!'
Running over, she smiled triumphantly at the sight of a gap in the metal bars. 'Brilliant. This leads onto Garden Road, doesn't it?'
Diane nodded. 'It's covered in CCTV, we should get a positive ID for Anderson's car if it was him. And there's something else,' she added, pointing carefully to a bit of a blue fabric tinged with red attached to some brambles. 'If that's from our suspect…'
'Excellent, Di. This could be a real breakthrough. I'll talk to Mickey.'
The constable stepped away a few inches, obviously not eager to be caught on the same brambles as Alexander McMartin's assailant. 'Is everything alright? You know, the phone call…'
After a brief inner-debate, Jo shook her head. 'I think Lorna might've done a runner.'
Diane raised an eyebrow. 'What? How do you know?'
'Call it a hunch. She's desperate, she'd do anything for her daughter.'
Her friend sighed. 'And you'd do anything for her by the look of it.'
'Oh, come on, I know you'd do exactly the same in my position.'
Diane conceded that with a shrug. 'Be careful, Jo.'
'I can't afford to fail her,' she answered quietly. 'I'd never forgive myself.'
'Then don't,' Di said plainly. 'Get onto Mickey, get the ball rolling. I'd better get back to Tony before he gets the cavalry in. I'll see you later.'
'Cheers, Di,' Jo muttered with an attempt at a smile. Then she reached for her mobile.
'Alright, maybe you're onto something.'
Contented, Jo stepped away from the brambles and allowed forensics to do their work. She followed Mickey back to his car. 'I know you don't believe me but…'
'Yeah, yeah, alright. Look, I've gotta clear this with the Guv, or my life won't be worth living.'
'We've got Anderson's DNA on file,' she reminded him. 'Quick result on this one.'
'Just act like you're suspended and let me do my job, will ya?'
'I will if you do it right,' she retorted then she frowned. 'Actually, I should get going. I'll be on my mobile if you need me.'
Lorna was definitely not at home. The place didn't look shut-up as such but it certainly seemed as though the Scot had left in a hurry. The living room, Jo discovered as she peered through the window, had clothes strewn haphazardly over it. She didn't need anymore indication- Lorna wasn't planning on returning any time soon.
With a groan she went back to her car. She didn't know what to do. Lorna had a court hearing in the morning and if she wasn't there for that… Well, it didn't look good. Not to mention the implications of taking Sarah away from the CPT team. The trouble was, Jo could fully understand why she'd fled. Imagine spending eight years alone, building a life for you and your daughter, only to have it threatened in the blink of an eye. And to discover that your daughter was possibly in danger from a paedophile as well: that was bound to be horrific. Jo had wanted to help by keeping it from her, but she had to confess she'd only made things worse. She needed Lorna to trust her and that was the wrong way of going about it.
On that note, she tried calling Lorna's mobile. It went, predictably, straight to voicemail and she sighed, debating whether to leave a message or not. When the beep came, she muttered, 'Hi, it's me. I know you don't wanna hear from me, but, Lorna, you need to rethink what you're doing. No one else knows, you can still come back and we can sort this out. There's new evidence, possibly linking Anderson to the scene. Please call me,' she finished, ending the call and dropping the phone onto the passenger seat.
Rubbing her temples with her fingers, she let out her breath heavily. The last few days seemed like a dream. She couldn't work out whether it was a dream though or some kind of nightmare. On the one hand, she'd found herself experiencing emotions she hadn't explored- and hadn't wanted to- since Tess had left. And it was liberating, she had to admit. She hadn't wanted to be a celibate martyr but that had appeared to be the way it was heading until… Well, until she'd started looking at Lorna properly and recognising just how much she liked her. It wasn't often she looked at someone and thought, 'this could work', but with Lorna she'd done just that. Of course, the only reason she'd passed the threshold of Lorna's emotions had been because of the case. She wouldn't deny they were perhaps going in that direction anyway but Lorna's arrest and all the events surrounding it had been the catalyst for their relationship. And how could something started in those circumstances have a hope of lasting? She was past the time when she just wanted fun. She wanted someone to come home to at night again. She wanted… It was strange to say it…She wanted a family. Maybe she was just at that age.
Yeah, but was she ready for it? Sarah was practically an impressionable teenager: could she handle that? It wasn't just Lorna she'd be signing on for; it'd be the whole caboodle. She couldn't jump up and leave if the mood took her.
But it was all pie in the sky anyway. Why would Lorna want anything to do with her after she lied about Alex and the photos? Equally, why would Lorna see her as anything more than comfort during a difficult time? It was so easy to turn to someone when things were going wrong and want nothing to do with them afterwards. She knew; she'd done that a few times in her own life. She didn't want to be that for Lorna, though. She wanted… more.
When her mobile began ringing, she grabbed for it. 'Lorna?'
'No, it's me,' Mickey answered. 'You alright?'
'Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Mickey,' she lied. 'What's up?'
'Just thought you might wanna know,' he went on after a moment, 'that we've tracked Gregory Anderson down to a hotel on the High Street. Diane and Tony have gone to pick him up now.'
'That's great news. Thanks for letting me know.'
'It doesn't mean Lorna's off the hook yet though,' Mickey warned.
'Heap the pressure on. Or stick him in a room with the DI: that'll crack him.'
Her colleague snorted. 'Might just do that. You sure you're alright?'
'Mmm, I'm fine. Keep me informed, yeah?'
'Yeah, course. And Jo?'
'What?'
'I'm sorry I doubted you.'
Taking a moment, she eventually muttered, 'You might've had a point. I put my gut into the case, not my head.'
'Well, it worked, didn't it?' he reasoned. 'We wouldn't have looked beyond Lorna if you hadn't…'
'Stuck my nose in?'
'Exactly. Good on you for that.'
After settling on her sofa pensively with a bottle of cheap wine, Jo flicked through the channels on the television then abandoned that pursuit and sat for a while with some instrumental music playing in the background on the CD player.
When her phone rang and she saw the display read 'Mickey' again, she was tempted to ignore the call, but she knew that was stupid. He might, for once, have something important to tell her. 'Hello?'
'We've got a result,' Mickey said immediately. 'DNA match between the fabric you found at the waste ground and Gregory Anderson. We also found some black leather driving gloves in his possession that could account for the lack of fingerprints on the weapon and he was wearing them on the CCTV we've got of Garden Road. And, Jo, there was…'
'Was what?' she prompted as he halted, her stomach clenching at the potential conclusions to that sentence.
'He had images of children on his laptop, about a hundred of them were indecent. There was one- an innocent one- of Sarah, and it looks like it was sent to him by Alexander McMartin. They're both under investigation now.'
'Have you brought McMartin in?'
'No, he did a runner from the hospital this afternoon. We're trying to find local associates but…'
Jo let out her breath. 'Lorna's missing too. Her and Sarah. I thought she'd decided it was better to run, but what if she didn't do it voluntarily?'
'Come on, Jo,' Mickey said, 'there's no evidence of that.'
'There was no evidence of Gregory Anderson being involved in that crime, Mickey!' she retorted, feeling her temperature rise. 'What if he's…'
'Look,' he interrupted, 'there's nothing to suggest he's dangerous. As far as we know, he's just a manipulative liar.'
'Who's being investigated for possible paedophilia!'
'Jo, calm down.'
'Don't try and tell me what to do, Mickey,' she said warningly, finishing the call abruptly.
The phone stayed beside her for all of thirty seconds before she picked it up again and scrolled down to Lorna's entry in her phone book. When she called it went, as she'd anticipated, straight to voicemail. 'Lorna, I need you to call me. I need to know you're okay. Something's happened and… Please. I can't have anything happening to you. I… I'm falling in love with you.'
It was dark when the mobile started a cacophony on the bedside table but Jo was immediately alert. 'Lorna?'
There was a pause. 'You said something had happened.'
Reaching for the lamp, she questioned, 'Are you okay? Where are you?'
'In a hotel.'
'Are you and Sarah alone?'
'Of course we are. Why are you even asking that? Do you really think that I'd…'
'No, no,' she interjected, 'it's nothing like that.' After taking a long breath, she continued, 'Alex is wanted in connection with indecent images and he's gone off the radar. I thought…'
'We're fine,' Lorna interrupted. 'Sarah's asleep and I'm…'
'I'm sorry I lied to you,' Jo said quietly. 'It was me misguidedly trying to protect you. I'm sorry.'
'I understand why you did it, Jo, but… You have to understand that I can't be with people who pick and choose what they tell me. I had too much of that with Alex, more than I could stomach.'
'I didn't mean to do that. Until something came of it I wasn't sure if worrying you was the right thing to do.'
'But something has come of it?'
'You need to come home. You'll be in the clear before your court hearing, I'm sure of it.'
'Can you guarantee that for Sarah's sake?'
'There's new evidence linking Gregory Anderson to the crime. When they get him in interview he'll crack, I know it.'
'That's your gut feeling, is it?'
'Lorna,' Jo said with difficulty, 'this is what's best for you. Running makes you look guilty.'
There was a long silence, so lengthy that Jo wondered if she'd been cut off. Then Lorna muttered, 'I'm scared.'
'I know. But come back and we'll sort it. Please. Let me help.'
'I'll call you in the morning,' Lorna said suddenly before hanging up.
Unsure where that left her, Jo placed the phone carefully on the bedside table and flopped back down into bed. At least Lorna was alright, at least she had that knowledge to fall asleep with. And that was worth a lot.
Waking, she'd only just finished her first coffee of the morning when she received a text from Lorna asking her to accompany her to her court date. Of course, she replied in the affirmative without hesitation but then she called the station to see if there were any further developments.
'Well, we're still working on a confession,' Mickey admitted when he answered the phone.
'Are you dropping the charges against Lorna or not?'
'The DI's still…'
'Right,' Jo cut him off. 'I guess I'm coming into work then.'
Until she was shut inside Sam Nixon's office with the woman herself, Jo didn't know for certain what she was going to say. She'd rather been hoping the words would come to her on the way to the station but they hadn't and, as the door clicked shut, she felt her throat drying out. But this still had to be done.
Taking a seat when it was offered, she finally said, 'Firstly, I'd like to apologise for my recent behaviour. I was out of line, but I had good intentions.'
The DI nodded. 'I never doubted that, Jo. But you have to agree that your methods were a little unorthodox. And you were too close.'
'Yeah,' she admitted. 'Yeah, I was. But if my closeness to Lorna has meant that we haven't locked up an innocent woman then I don't think I should apologise. But,' she went on hastily, recognising she was straying from the point, 'I still went about it in the wrong way.'
'Your personal relations aren't my concern, Jo. How they affect your job is.'
'It won't happen again. I guarantee it.'
Samantha watched her then finally said, 'Fine. Then I accept your apology.'
'Thank you,' she answered courteously then ran her tongue over her dry lips. 'Now you know Lorna's innocent…'
'Oh, don't finish that sentence, Jo!'
'Come on, you're obviously dropping the charges!'
'On what grounds?' Sam queried. 'As far as the CPS is concerned we've got evidence that places her at the scene with the weapon. The only way she's off the hook is if we get something concrete from Mickey's interview Anderson. A signed confession might be nice.'
Jo sighed then nodded. 'She is innocent though, Guv.'
'I realise that. And I promise you that we'll crack Anderson, okay?'
Standing, Jo questioned, 'Is it alright if I drive Lorna to court?'
Before Sam could reply the door burst open and Mickey entered, a triumphant grin on his face. 'We've got him! He's confessed.'
Hardly daring to believe it, Jo asked, 'You what?'
'He knew we had too much on him,' Mickey replied with a shrug.
Glancing back to gauge the DI's reaction, she was unsurprised when her superior said, 'How could he possibly know that? We didn't know that.'
Mickey shifted on the spot. 'I might've implied there was more to our case than there actually was. But it doesn't matter. A confession means Lorna's off the hook and he's out of our hair.'
'You didn't lead him, did you?' Sam questioned.
'No! It's all above board, I promise.'
Finding a smile slipping onto her face, Jo moved towards the door. 'I'd better tell Lorna.' When something occurred to her, she looked back to Mickey. 'Did he say why he'd done it?'
Mickey's smile faded a little. 'Well, you know how we didn't like the direction this was taking? Turns out we had cause to be worried. Anderson got peeved when McMartin made it clear he wanted nothing more to do with him in a few months. Now, losing a member of his paedophile ring didn't sit well, not that he actually said that was the reason.'
'What was happening in a few months?' Sam asked from behind her desk.
It was Jo who answered. 'Alex was planning on having custody of his daughter by then. Obviously didn't want a bloke like Anderson hanging around her. The only worthwhile thing I can see in him.'
When she pulled up outside Lorna's house she was almost out of the car before she'd undone her seatbelt. Untangling her arm diligently, she then just about remembered to lock the door before she sped up the path.
Lorna, obviously having been waiting, opened the door as she approached it. 'Are you okay?'
'Come inside,' Jo instructed. When the door was closed, she smiled. 'You're in the clear. We got a confession from Anderson.'
Lorna's face flickered through several emotions in the space of a few seconds before she leaned back against the wall to steady herself. 'Seriously?'
'Yep. It's over.'
A smile slowly slid over Lorna's face and she grabbed Jo in a hug. 'Thank you. Thank you.'
'Well, it wasn't all me. Mickey got him to talk, Di…' She was cut off by Lorna pulling back and kissing her deeply. When they separated, she ammended, 'Come to think of it, it was mostly my doing.'
Laughing, Lorna kissed her again. 'I don't know what I would've done without you.'
'Maybe you could show me over dinner sometime,' Jo suggested.
Lorna cleared her throat and stepped back. 'I think I need to spend some time with Sarah for a while. You understand that?'
Though a little hurt, she nodded. 'Yeah, course. I mean, you know where I am when you're ready. I'm not going anywhere.'
'Now, don't make promises you can't keep,' the Scot answered, going through into the kitchen.
After a long moment, Jo followed her. 'I suppose you'll be heading straight back to work.'
Lorna had her back to her. 'Mmm, I was planning on it.'
Swallowing, and still trying to keep her voice cheerful, Jo said, 'Well, I'll leave you to it. But like I said, you know where I am. And I'm glad it's all sorted.'
'Bye, Jo,' Lorna said softly as she left.
Once out on the street she felt a bit cold. However, she didn't clamour to get into her car, she was rather enjoying the sensation of feeling the icy wind. The scene inside the house had felt bizarre, a little bit unreal, and she felt like she needed this reminder to express that, yes, she wasn't dreaming. Lorna had just practically kicked her out.
Opening the car, she fell into the driving seat with a lot less gusto than she'd had merely minutes earlier when she'd left it. She felt a bit numb, as though the last few minutes hadn't happened. Realising she was in front of the house and that she probably shouldn't be, she started the car but only drove around the corner before stopping again.
Hadn't she said it herself? Something started in those circumstances couldn't last. But it still stung nevertheless. She hadn't expected it to be over quite so soon.
