He rarely ate out, and didn't want to ask any of his staff for a recommendation, so he decided to just walk about a bit until something looked interesting.
Squinting in the bright sun light, he recalled a day at the beach his then-wife had insisted upon one summer when their daughter was young.
His childhood experiences with his foster parents on their one 'family holiday' where they had spent most of the time drinking themselves stupid and arguing, made the idea of going on one as an adult almost as appealing as getting teeth removed with no anaesthesia and a rusty spoon.
His wife had heard his story about this and insisted that the trip would be different. A few days in and he had found that, yes, indeed it was. In fact, he mused, it was the happiest time of their marriage.
Before the affair, before the scandal...
He was brought out of his memories by the realisation that someone was calling his name, "DCI Hardy?"
A vaguely familiar woman was standing across the street waving at him, "hello!" she called.
His mind, still on the past, took a brief second to recall her identity; Carlisle's girlfriend...Natalie, he corrected himself.
"Can I help you?" he asked as she negotiated traffic to come to stand in front of him.
She smiled, "I was just passing by and saw you come out..." she gestured at the police station, "and was wondering if you'd like to join me for lunch?"
He stiffened at the suggestion, Natalie could see a frown lurking at the edge of his eyes, and waited for the refusal she knew was to come.
"I really don't..." he started.
"I hate eating alone," she quickly cut in, "and I have this friend who recommended a place that Peter would never go to, it's a new Mexican place just down there."
Again she could tell he was going to turn her down, so she added, "and I will never go there on my own."
That seemed to do it, his face softened and he managed a polite smile, "I'd like that," he said without a great deal of enthusiasm, but at least he tried, Natalie noted.
Peter had just stepped outside, having poured over his case files for what seemed like the millionth time since the miserable bastard Hardy had assigned him to the shop robberies.
Each time the CCTV was disabled in advance, no one saw anything, none of the usual informants had any ideas and the shop owners were not the type to take inventory very often. So, aside from cash taken, which was pretty untraceable, they had nothing to go on.
As he left the building he saw Natalie across the street and smiled at this happy coincidence. He would take her to lunch and...
Then his smile froze, as she bounded over to another man and started obviously chatting him up. He could only see the back of the man's head, but that was enough. She was talking to his boss, Hardy.
His heart sunk further as the two of them, thick as thieves, and Natalie using her most charming smile on Hardy, walked away.
Peter's fist clenched as his side. His anger blazing as bright as the sun as he recalled the warning one of his friends had given him about Natalie, "you know if she's willing to cheat on her husband with you, she's bound to cheat on you with someone else!"
At the time he shrugged that off, putting it down as pure and simple jealousy at his good fortune.
Now, as he watched her walk away with Hardy, he couldn't get those words out of his head.