‘It’s bloody awful,’ Declan said with a sigh. ‘Not a very nice one for you to be involved with.’ She was surprised by his show of support. ‘Sorry for being grumpy earlier,’ he went on, ‘I guess I just miss having you around.’
Kate looked over at him. ‘I know you do, Declan, and if I could help it, I would.’
‘Truce?’
‘Sure,’ she agreed with a reassuring smile.
‘What do you say we all do something tomorrow? We could go see your mom, have lunch out, then take a drive somewhere, spend time together, just the three of us. Charlie missed you today. I did too.’
Kate took a deep breath. ‘Declan, I’m really sorry, but I might have to work tomorrow.’ She saw the look of disappointment and then hurt register on his face, but she plunged on. ‘Look, when this is all over, we can have as much time together as you want. I’ve already sent Ocean House an email to say I need time off. Once this case is sorted, I won’t rush back. We are both well overdue a holiday anyhow.’
‘Kate, I don’t know.’
‘What don’t you know?’
‘About us.’ He stood up.
‘What about us?’ she said, her voice sounding weaker than she meant it to sound, almost as if it belonged to someone else.
‘You don’t really need me to spell it out for you, you’re not stupid.’
She bit her lip, stung by his tone. ‘I know things haven’t been great, Declan, but we’re not the first couple to go through tough times.’
‘Don’t psychoanalyse us, Kate. We’re not products of some research findings.’
‘I’m not saying that. Look, all we need is time.’
‘Well, let me know when you have some, and while you’re at it, why don’t you let Charlie know as well.’
‘That’s not fair.’
‘Isn’t it?’ He started walking towards the door.
‘You know it’s not. Where are you going?’
‘Out.’
‘But it’s late.’
‘Don’t wait up.’
Charlie woke when Declan slammed the front door, appearing suddenly in the doorway of the sitting room. He was in his Batman pyjamas, rubbing his eyes with sleep. Kate hugged him close.
‘You okay, honey?’
‘Where’s Daddy?’
‘He’ll be back in a minute. Come on, superheroes need their sleep.’
‘I don’t want to sleep. I want Daddy.’
‘Here, I’ll read you a story; you pick, any one you like.’
He eyed her suspiciously and looked so earnest, with his black spiky hair and cartoon pyjamas, that in spite of everything, she smiled.
‘I want them,’ he said, pointing to the comics Declan had bought earlier.
It was a toss between Batman and Superman, so Kate opted for the latter. Superman now had heat vision, which could shoot laser beams, along with x-ray and telescopic abilities. As Kate attempted to get her son to settle down in his bed, it was Superman’s powerful breathing skills, knocking over cars and freezing objects on the spot, that kept Charlie blowing at her face, constantly telling her to freeze.
Sensing that he might have pushed her too far, he sheepishly asked for his Bear story about the lost bear, the one who is eventually found under the bed. He may have thought superheroes were the best thing ever, but he wasn’t ready to let go of his favourite bedtime story yet.
Kate stayed in the room long after he had fallen asleep. She thought about Declan, about how maybe he had a point, that he had only said what she was already thinking but didn’t want to admit out loud. She had been tied up with work a lot recently, but work wasn’t the problem, and deep down she knew it. Obviously Declan did, too. There was a time when she never doubted that the two of them would always love each other, when everything between them was easy, as if it was simply meant to be. Had her feelings towards him changed so much? Had she stopped loving him? She had no idea what she could do about any of it right now, but whatever she was going to do, it would have to wait until the investigation was over. They’d both have to try and be patient until then.
Incident Room, Tallaght Garda Station
Saturday, 8 October, 10.30 p.m.
O’CONNOR WASN’T THE ONLY ONE WORKING LATE – a couple of the CCTV guys were still going through footage at the back of the Incident Room when he arrived. He nodded to both of them, then phoned Gunning.
‘Any more on the Interpol searches?’
‘Lots of dead ends, nothing concrete, but I’m pushing hard. You know me, O’Connor, I like to get results.’
‘Yeah, well, we all do, but not all for the same reasons.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Never mind, keep me posted, that’s all.’
‘What about your end, anything fresh in?’