He knew she was here because she felt she had to be; she wanted to fit in. She smiled and made polite conversation when directly asked a question. Half an hour later, when she hadn’t spoken a word to him, he brought the conversation around to this afternoon.
‘Hey, did you realise our little goth here, Morgan, was a super detective.’
He felt her squirm next to him; still, he carried on, encouraged by the laughter that filled the room.
‘Yep, been on the job five minutes and she was only telling that miserable git Ben Matthews how to do his job. Next, she’ll be telling the DCI how to run a case. It was hilarious, you should have seen his face.’
Morgan smiled at the jokes he was making about her and lifted the wine glass to her lips, downing the rest of it in one gulp. Neither she nor Dan noticed Ben walk into the bar. He was ordering a double JD and Coke for Mitch while listening to Dan’s little tale. The barman passed Ben the drink and he pushed it in Mitch’s direction, who saluted his thanks. Then Ben turned around. Dan was still loudly telling everyone about Morgan, who looked as if she was going to burst into tears. There was a bit of a scuffle as she pushed herself up and squeezed past the table full of men who were laughing loudly at her expense. She walked towards the door and Dan shouted after her.
‘Come back, Morgan, I’m only joking, you need to lighten up.’
She didn’t look over her shoulder; instead, she kept her head high as she pushed her way through the doors and into the car park.
Dan stood up, regretting being quite so mean to her in front of everyone. The grin which had filled his face turned into a thin line when he realised that Ben had heard the whole thing.
Ben strode towards him and knocked the table with his knee, sending drinks toppling to a chorus of loud shouts.
He pointed his finger at Dan’s chest. ‘Morgan was obviously too polite to say anything, but I’m not. You are a complete wanker.’ Ben, who towered over Dan, glared at him.
‘It’s just a bit of banter, nothing to get upset about.’
‘Banter my arse, you’re an idiot and you’d better apologise to her tomorrow or I’ll be filing a grievance on her behalf against you for bullying.’
The barman came rushing over. ‘Now then, lads, calm it down.’
Ben turned and left. Dan laughed, trying not to show how shaken he was. Ben was a much bigger guy than him; this could have ended up a lot worse.
Jonny, who was sitting next to him, ruffled his hair with his hand.
‘You could have lost your shiny, white front teeth then, Danny lad. Ben is a bit of an animal when he lets loose. Better watch your step around him, either that or apologise to them both.’
He shrugged. ‘No way, it was just a joke. If she’s so uptight she can’t take a bit of a laugh and he’s so quick to defend her, let them stew. I’m not apologising, pair of losers.’
Jonny laughed. ‘Your funeral, mate, Ben has friends in high places. It was funny though.’ He raised his glass to Dan, then downed the rest of his pint and stood up. ‘I have to go; my wife is on nights. See you tomorrow.’
Dan smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was wondering if he should also call it a night or whether to drown his sorrows, along with his stupidity. He had nothing and no one to go home to. He decided to order another pint and drink himself senseless.
Five
Morgan stood on the pavement, wondering whether to call a taxi or walk back to her flat. It was a good ten-minute walk and the boots she was wearing weren’t the comfiest. She set off walking along the main road. It was late but surprisingly quiet for a Friday night.
‘Morgan.’
The deep voice bellowed her name and she turned around thinking that if it was Dan she’d tell him where to go. She saw Ben standing at the entrance to the small car park and thought, Oh the shame, he just saw me get well and truly humiliated in front of most of my colleagues, as if today hasn’t been bad enough. Lifting one hand, she waved then turned and carried on walking, trying to put as much distance between them as possible so she didn’t have to make polite