Chapter Two

The car was filled with the warm and comforting smell of pizza. The two of them had eaten ravenously and Jack was glad that he'd ordered the extra-large pizza. Apart from their initial conversation, the two had sat in silence both concentrating on their food intake rather than polite chat. Jack watched Sinead wolf down the hot slice of pizza and dreaded to think about the last time she had eaten a decent meal. Her bones were started to just through her pale skin and she still seemed to shiver despite the warmth of the car.

"So do you want to tell me who he was?" Jack asked once he had finished his food

Sinead looked at him opened mouth, a bolus of chewed pizza visible on her tongue. She seemed shocked by his choice of topic of conversation but quickly rearranged her features, swallowing hard as she did so "Why do you care?" she asked suspiciously

Jack shrugged "Curiosity I suppose,"

"He's no one," she shook her head "No one at all,"

"So why didn't you want me to tell him where you were hiding, if he's no one to you?" he asked "If you want I can call him back to ask him," he said making a move to exit his car

"Don't you dare!" she grabbed at his arm, digging her nails into the sleeve of his jacket. Despite her waif like appearance she was surprisingly strong.

"If you're in trouble then you should talk to the police, they can help you," he said turning back around

She let go of his arm and sighed angrily "They won't help. I'm on my own in all of this,"

"They're not that bad," Jack said. Whilst he occasionally got frustrated with members of the Yorkshire law enforcement community he knew on the whole that they were okay. He also was aware that they had to work together and whether he liked it or not they were a team

"Oh bloody hell," she swore softly "You're one of them aren't you? You're a copper!"

"No," Jack shook his head "Not at all. My job requires me to work with them sometimes, that's all,"

Sinead looked at him distrustfully "Are you going to call them?" she asked

"Do I need to?"

She stared hard at him for a few moments and when she was sure he wasn't going to break her gaze, she slumped back in the seat as a weary look passed across her features.

"No," she said quietly "Thanks for the pizza. I'd best get going,"

"Do you have somewhere to go tonight or someone to go to?" he asked "And by someone I don't mean that arsehole I had the pleasure of meeting earlier,"

"No one and nowhere," she said "And definitely not back to him. Of that you can be sure," Sinead said firmly

"You sleep rough," it was more of a statement than a question. Jack looked her over and finally found a solution to the question of why she was cold, thin and covered in dirt.

"Like I said before: why do you care?" her accent getting more pronounced as she spoke

"Can't desert a fellow Celt in their time of need," he told her with a grin which soon faded when he saw her resolute expression "There's nothing I can do to stop you going back out is there?" Jack said and was unsurprised when she shook her head

"You've helped me enough already," she told him "Go back to your life and forget about all of this," she gestured as she made a move to get out of the car

"Wait," he put out an arm to stop her "If you're going to go out there at least take this," he said pulling a hoody from the back seat "It's cold out there,"

"It always is," she told him as she took the hoody "Thank you," Sinead said as she struggled into the hoody "You're a good man Jack,"

"It's nothing," he said shaking off her words of praise "Just stay safe okay and maybe think about contacting the police?"

"I'll think about it," she assured him but he knew she was lying

"If you do ever go down there," he said pulling out his wallet "As for me: Jack Hodgson," Jack said as he pulled out a card with his contact details on "Even if you just want to talk or something, "

Sinead took the card and glanced at it, before stowing it away in the pocket of the hoody. She smiled a silent thank-you and exited the car. Jack watched her walk away; a thin figure swamped in a thick hoody which fell down to her knees. She crossed the car-park and disappeared into the shadows without as much as a backward glance. Jack hadn't been expecting her to act any differently; he knew she was more focused on survival than social niceties.

When he was sure she'd gone, he shoved the pizza box to one side and started up his car engine. Pulling out of the car park he drove back home, deep in thought. Occasionally he saw a homeless figure hunched up in a shop doorway and wondered whether it was Sinead. He hated to think that anyone would have to sleep out in the cold on a night like this, but he hoped that his hoody provided some warmth for the young woman and that his card might have provided a way for her to reach out to at least someone.

Because the way she was heading, she'd been on the mortuary slab in a couple of months at most.

And it would be such a waste.