CHAPTER 44
In the end, our visitors did indeed get Arwel’s Grand Tour and I stayed as far away from Alice and Arwel as I could, even tugging Sar away once or twice. Nothing to see, move along now. I got the call two weeks after they had all gone back East.

“Inspector Powell, how can I help you?”

“Sut wyt ti, Elaine?”

I switched languages. “Sh’mae, Steph. Beth wyt ti’n eisiau?”

“Did some asking round about that copper friend of yours. Bit of a mess, but by luck she’d already ended up with my old shrink, therapist, woman called Sally. Sal doesn’t break too many confidences, but she has stretched it a bit this time. Slow suicide by lifestyle, she says”

“Shit. He’s a good man, Steph. I was at one of his nasties myself, and when I say nasty you don’t really need any more detail than that”

“I was at the trial for the last one, Elaine. I had more detail there than I will ever want again”

“What’s the score then?”

“She’s got a friend, stepped in and sort of shook the tree. Scary woman, but her wife is a doctor, old friend of Sal’s, and Sal got her husband involved, he knows a bit about PTSD stuff. She’s coming back, Elaine”

Something in the conversation wasn’t making sense. “Steph, you are losing me. I assume from what you said that his friend is on the same bus as me and Siân, aye?”

“Yes, exactly”

“And the friend’s wife called your shrink in as a favour? And using her husband to help? Right so far?”

“Absolutely”

“Well, who in hell is coming back from where?”

There was a call from the front of my office. Adele.

“I know Welsh swearing as well, Inspector Powell!”

“Mae’n flin ‘da fi! Er, sorry! Steph, I’m lost here. What’s happening with Adam? Is he out of the woods?”

“She’s called Annie, Elaine”

I apologised to Adele once more after a word left my lips without asking my mind for permission.

“Steph, you are serious?”

“Absolutely. She’s been fighting it all her life, same as the rest of us. Doesn’t leave much room for dealing with what you call her nasties. Sal’s got her talking and her mad friend is doing the lifestyle and exercise thing. That’s what I meant about ‘coming back’. That was one thing I was going to ask as a favour: Sarah. At some point, I think it might help her if he can see how many of us can come through and find a decent life”

Not the girl who went off that bridge, though. I kept that thought to myself. “Lots of stuff going on at the moment. I’ll let Sarah know nearer the time, aye? I know my sister, and she’ll be like a mother hen, rushing straight in. Let Adam—Annie—let her find her feet first. You talking to her?”

“Going to get her to come round for some music at some point. Supposed to be hot stuff with the woodwind; see if we can’t find something we can play together. What?”

I had started to laugh as she said that. “Something you can beat her into submission with, aye?”

She sniffed loudly. “So I get a little absorbed in my playing. Don’t get many complaints”

“You mean you don’t hear them on whatever planet you go to!”

She started laughing as well. I liked this woman; there was a real soul to her.

“Steph, I know I don’t need to ask, but please: keep an eye on her. She’s one of the white hats”

“Elaine, I promise. She’s in good hands with Sal and Stewie. I’ll keep you up to date. Got to go’ due on shift in an hour”

“Please, Steph. Call me if you need me”

Bloody hell. I dialled again.

“Serious Crime Review Office…”

“Di? Lainey. Just been talking to one of my sister’s friends. Can you talk?”

“No worries, Lainey. Just me in today, all the others out on an old rape case”

“Nobody we know and love?”

“Need to know, Inspector Powell, need to know, but no. There are more arseholes in the male population than that family”

I had to laugh at that one. Sometimes life and the Job brought you blinkers. “Had a word from someone in England, aye?”

“Aye. Yes. About Adam?”

No, not now, girl. “Absolutely. No secrets; you were spot on, Di. Bad way, aye? Turned out the friend was involved in the same mess afterwards, so she needed no telling about the choice of outcomes”

“Management bullshit from you now, Inspector Powell?”

“Well, goes with the turf, I’m afraid. They’ve got me doing the overtime budgets”

“Ouch. This friend?”

“Girl from over here, friend of Sar’s, aye? Sound as. Anyway, seems Adam has his own friends, and good ones. You were right to be worried, girl, but he’s getting back up now. They’ve even got him lined up to play folk music”

“Thought you said they were friends, Lainey. Bloody hell!”

“Whatever it takes, aye? Want me to pass on your regards?”

“Er… I’ll think on that one”

“Talk to me, Diane! Ah. A good bloke, you said? Bit more than that?”

She sighed heavily at the other end of the phone. “No, not really. Well, not actually, but I did sort of hope, innit?”

“And Blake? They’re not exactly from the same mould, is it? What I remember of Adam he wasn’t exactly Mr Six Pack, and Blake, well, no midget, is he?”

“Ah, Lainey…”

“Di? You OK?”

“Lainey, a second or two, aye? Thank fuck the rest are out. Look, it’s self-confidence, innit? Blake, well, if it wasn’t for what we’ve been through, us, you, the team, no way could I go near him. Big man, big personality”

“Hard bastard, aye?”

“Aye. But that’s not what he is, is it? I mean, he doesn’t hang back, and he takes no crap, but he’s Job, he’s serve and protect, and I mean protect, aye? You should have seen his face when he realised who that little shit was, the one who pissed himself. He worships you, Lainey. But Adam… When he was here, it wasn’t like that. I mean, he was always fit, lovely bum with the cycling, but it wasn’t that.

“Shit, look. After what happened to me, that bastard, someone like Blake, I couldn’t even have spoken to him, innit? Adam, dunno, you could just talk to him. He was almost like a girlfriend, that way. I mean, I don’t mean, I mean not like Chris, aye? I don’t mean gay man stuff, and anyway he got married to that English tart, so he wasn’t, but, well. I could have, yeah? I just didn’t have the guts to ask him, and then it was too late”

“And Blake? Second best, is it?”

“You are a teasing cow, Inspector Powell. You know that. Just, you wonder, aye? What ifs? Well, it’s academic now, but, well, I cared for him here and that doesn’t go away. Just let me know he’s OK when you can”

What to say? Well, not now. Later, perhaps, but Annie had her feet to find and a life to begin again. I promised myself I would be there for that as I gave the same thoughts to Diane, but carefully censored. I ended up thinking of Tony’s comments about his own Annie, and my sister, and how he would make no choice between them, no preference, because such a thing was moot and would always remain so. He had loved his first wife, he loved the second one.

“Di, I promise. Are you sure you don’t want me to pass on your best?”

“No, Lainey. Just, well, just tell him he’s not been forgotten over here, and that people still like to know old friends are OK. If you can do that, perhaps he’ll understand”

“I’m sure he will”

“Thanks, love. I mean that word, Lainey”

“I know, Di. We’ll catch up properly. Get Chris and the rest all together, go out and repaint Cardiff”

“Pink or red?”

“Do I care which, as long as there’s beer involved? Later, Di!”

Oh for the simple life.

Steph rang again a month later. “We had that musical session, Elaine. She’s good. Bit rusty, but real talent”

“How’s she doing?”

“Oh, Sal and Stewie have her well in hand, and her girlfriend is definitely worth getting to know. Solid girl, that one. Really cares for Annie”

“Thought you said the friend was married?”

“Eh? Oh! No, girl friend, friend who is a girl, I meant. No, from what I saw Annie’s most definitely a straight girl. In fact, if I wasn’t married, well, I’d be tempted. She brought tow blokes to the house for the session, the strumpet”

“Seriously, Steph? How is she doing?”

“Simple terms? She picked up what I only heard described, and she’s still with us. Real strength there. More than that, she’s got a solid base of friends. I’ve got her lined up for a sort of dance concert thing, so steady as she goes for now. What is it you aren’t telling me?”

“Quite simple, really. Person who gave me the news is, was, one of my coppers, and she had the hots for him when he was here. Her”

“Er, no. Not a snowball’s. Look, do you want to come over some time, meet her?”

“Not just yet, aye? Let her find her feet first”

I closed down that call, and the bastard rang again. “Inspector Powell”

“Lainey!”

“Tone?”

“Can you get over? Alice is hurt!”