The briefing extended into starting the actual work, and Hathaway's nose was stuck to a computer screen for the entire remainder of the day. By the time he finally escaped from the drudgery and returned to the office, he saw Lewis's computer was shut down and the manila envelope was gone from his desk. Innocent's office was also dark.
He punched the speed dial on his phone.
"Yeah, hi, it's me. Can you meet me for a pint? I need to tell you about a couple of developments." A pause. "No, none of them is good." Another pause. "Yeah, White Horse, fine. See you in a few."
She was waiting at an outside table, where the sky glowed rose with the late-evening sunset. Two pint glasses sat on the table, one of them full. Hathaway lit a cigarette to steady himself.
"Well?"
Deep breath. "When I got back from the Maiden's, Lewis made this pointed remark about my buying you lunch. I figured that gave me an opening, so I mentioned that you found his disappearance a bit abrupt after having had such a lovely evening. He absolutely jumped all over me, told me to piss off, and referred to Friday night's events as 'recreational shagging.' Then Innocent called him away and I had a peek at some paperwork on his desk. Retirement paperwork. He picked it up today, I'm sure of it."
"Oh, dear God."
"He's so angry and I can't help thinking it's our fault, all of it. And now Innocent's assigned me to D.I. Laxton for the week for this stupid scavenger hunt through mounds of names and addresses and I have no chance to talk to him at all but all kinds of time to think about this." He gave her a desperate look.
"Ohhh, dear God," she repeated. They sipped their ale in silence for a while. "Maybe it's just as well you're not working with him for a few days. He's probably more angry at himself than anyone else. I still think we should just give him time. Does Innocent know?"
"About his retirement plans? I think so. She mentioned getting a disturbing call from Personnel, and that was why she wanted to talk with him."
"Well, you'll have to trust her to get it sorted. She won't let him retire just because he's hit a bad patch." She took another sip. "And if he does, then I'll just have you all to myself, won't I?" She smiled mischievously.
He had to smile back, shaking his head. "You must have been a real troublemaker when you were a kid. And able to charm your way out of it, too."
"What do you mean, 'when I was a kid'? I can still make plenty of trouble, if you haven't noticed." She arched her eyebrows at him.
"It's your most endearing feature."
"Really, James? I have the feeling I have other features you find more endearing."