light was Daniel, standing on her doorstep. Momentary lost for words, she felt relieved. Daniel. Here. She was so glad to see him.
‘Hi Sarah,’ her heart skipped a beat when he said her name. ‘Your dad said your husband is missing? I wondered if you would care for any help in your search?’
‘Yes, please Daniel,’ and she took pleasure in being able to say his name, to his face. ‘Come in’.
He stepped over the threshold and leant in towards her, gently kissing her cheek. He lingered as he did and squeezed her shoulders towards him. Sarah stood frozen, not responding, but she breathed in his scent. He smelt masculine and civilized, yet woody and vaguely of pine.
As he pulled away she felt heat rising - urhh, why did that have to happen? She looked away, trying to pretend she wasn’t as affected by his presence as she blatantly was.
‘I was just about to head out, but I don’t really know where to start.’
‘Shall we walk and talk it though?’
‘Yes, that would be great.’
Sarah walked into the living room, sat down and pulled on her worn brown boots and she opened the door for Daniel. As he walked down the steps she admired him from behind. He was wearing the same leather jacket as when she met him, but his other clothes were more casual - he had on faded ripped jeans and black rugged boots. As she locked up she felt his eyes on her, but didn’t know if it was wishful thinking. He’s here.
They walked up the drive next to each other and Sarah explained the little she’d worked out so far.
‘What do you think, town or woods?’ she asked him.
‘How about town first?’
As Sarah turned right Daniel followed her. They walked down the wide street towards the town centre, past garages and grocery shops. She was so aware of Daniel, and so surprised by his presence. I want him to touch me, she thought. Yet she had said to herself she wouldn’t try to see him again. And she hadn’t, but she hadn’t asked him to leave either. And here she was with an irresistible man and Jo was missing.
Daniel interrupted her thoughts, ‘Shall we ask after him in bars?’
She wondered how much Daniel knew about Jo, or suspected. With their history, Jo going to bars was on her list of worries, what may have happened if he had, who he may have met. But that didn’t explain why his car was missing.
‘Yes, I brought a photo with me,’ she tugged a slightly rumpled picture out of her back pocket and showed it to Daniel. It featured Jo holding Megan tight. Daniel looked at it closely. As Sarah watched him she felt a ripple of unease as she thought she saw a hint of recognition in Daniel’s expression. Why would he recognize him? Maybe she had imagined it.
He handed it back to her and they walked on past more small shops. The town, Hartland, was quite big. It sprawled out in front of her towards the square, but most of the bars were further on away from the main shops and cafes. Being a Sunday the town was quite quiet, with a few families walking together and most shops shuttered up. Bars would be open though and they kept walking towards the grottier end of town. As they reached it Sarah eyed the odd broken window with unease. They entered the first bar they saw, it was dark and smelt of stale smoke. Her boots stuck to the floor as she walked. An old man worked the bar, probably the owner, but he was no help.
They went in bar after bar, finding no clues at all.
She looked at Daniel, he had taken over asking, sensing her frustration. ‘Daniel, I think this is the last place,’ she said, as they walked in.
This one was slightly nicer, it was dark but there were candles on tables and rock music played from an old duke box. There were a few people eating in corners and, even at this hour, people drinking at the bar. Sarah stood back in the shadows and let Daniel approach the bar alone; she was feeling unsettled and annoyed.
Really annoyed at Jo, how could he do this to them? She was going to be so angry when he came home. But she was also angry at herself, why am I being so selfish? Why aren’t I just plain worried? It would be the more appropriate emotion at