They were long past due another work overlap. Morse was standing in the common at the college, keeping Strange company while he patrolled the crime scene perimeter. How many dons can die in one term? Morse thought to himself.
Just about that time, he saw Miss Frazil walking towards him with purpose, and with Tuesday trailing a few feet behind her. Despite her height, Tuesday was a dawdler.
"Morse! Pleasure, as always," Miss Frazil said and held out her hand.
"It's been a while," Morse said, smiling, and shook her hand. "And… Miss Allison, I believe?"
Tuesday rolled her eyes.
"I've told Miss Frazil, and Strange saw us in the pub last week. Don't waste your breath."
Morse laughed and moved to kiss her on the cheek.
"Please, I'm working," she said and put a hand against his chest to push him away playfully. Strange looked away uncomfortably, but Miss Frazil smiled and distracted Morse.
"Can you confirm a few things for us?" she asked him.
"Possibly. What have you got?" Morse had learned to find out what journalists knew before he started handing out information. Best to know where you stand before you start talking.
"We've got a don, Michael Kinnaman, dead in his office. Word is it's foul play," Miss Frazil looked down at her notepad and continued. "Stab wound in the back, looks like he bled out on his Axminster carpet. Looking at the wife and one of his students, aren't you?"
Morse stared at her dumbly.
"How on Earth…" he trailed off. It was impossible that Miss Frazil should know as much as the police at this point. She must have a damn good source.
"Oh, don't look at me," Frazil said. "This was Tuesday's contact."
Morse turned to Tuesday, who shrugged her shoulders.
"A detective sergeant likes me," she said simply, as if that explained it all.
"And he called you the minute he left the scene?" Morse asked. "Wait, do you mean Jakes?"
Tuesday put a very deliberate innocent look on her face.
"He knows I'm seeing someone, but he insists on calling," she said matter-of-factly. "And if he's going to call, I insist it's useful."
Morse would never have thought they'd go for the same girl. Tuesday seemed a bit headstrong for Jakes, but who knew? Morse didn't know Jakes that well, not really. They worked together, they shared cases, they fought sometimes. Morse knew his background, but that didn't mean they magically understood each other or got on particularly well.
"We're not done talking about this," Morse told her. "I'll confirm some of it."
He started listing facts, and Miss Frazil started scribbling. Tuesday smiled sweetly at Morse and started making conversation with Strange about the weather.
That night when he got home, he asked Tuesday about Jakes. He wasn't worried, not really, but he wanted to know what he was dealing with.
"I told you, Morse. He calls, tells me what's going on, then usually asks me for a drink at the end of it," Tuesday explained. "I always say no, and I tell him that I'm seeing someone and it's serious, but it's not my responsibility to do anything further than that."
"I can't believe he tells you all those things," Morse said.
"Well, he doesn't have your scruples. Or mine, I suppose," she said. "I'd never ask you to tell me those sorts of things. But if he's going to make a fool out of himself by helping me out, then I'm not going to protest too much."
Morse supposed it made sense. Tuesday was using him as a source, and it was perfectly right on her side. Jakes' side was a different story, sharing that confidential information with a journalist.
There was one point Morse was still unclear on, though.
"Does he know I'm me?" he asked. "I mean, does he know I'm the man you're seeing."
Tuesday shrugged.
"I doubt it. I haven't told him, so if it hasn't gotten around the station, how would he?" she said.
Morse laughed.
"He's not going to like that," he told her.
It was several minutes later when he remembered something she'd said.
"Wait, Tuesday," he said. "It's serious?"
She gave him a look that was half exasperation, half affection.
"Is this how you are with girls you're not serious about?"
Morse thought about it for a moment.
"I don't think I've been like this with anyone before," he told her honestly.
"Well, I think that answers that, doesn't it?"
Morse wanted to tell her that he knew it was serious, that it had been serious for him for a long time, he just hadn't been sure how she felt about it. But instead he ruffled her hair and then kissed her long and hard.
