his hand on her hair.
‘Worried your arms would give out,’ she said. ‘But fair play, you stayed the course.’
He made a noise that might have been a snore.
‘You always had good upper-body strength,’ she said, dreamily.
On the last morning, Johnny lay by the pool, finishing his Lee Child. He loved Jack Reacher. Sometimes he wished he was Jack Reacher. Jack Reacher was afraid of nothing. What he found immensely satisfying was that the Lee Child book was always just long enough for his holiday. He was heading into the home stretch with both his holiday and his book. He’d finish it later this afternoon, on the plane, shortly before they landed.
How many other writers could promise that?!
None, he was prepared to bet.
Jessie swished by and said, ‘Look at him there, happy out, reading his book.’
‘I am happy out,’ Johnny agreed.
Nell, too, was lying by the pool. She wasn’t really a sunbather but she felt flat and disinclined to activity. End-of-holiday blues.
Ed and Ferdia were in the water with all the kids, trying to shove each other off lilos. Ferdia seemed to be coming off the worst of it. Although he was probably letting them win.
‘You’re trying to kill me,’ he yelled, swimming to the side. ‘Recovery time!’ Straightening his arms on the edge of the pool, he hoisted himself out with smooth grace. He shook the water back from his hair and wiped his eyes. When he saw Nell, he laughed, his teeth very white. ‘Little feckers nearly had me drowned.’
Putting down her book, she smiled into his face, his eyes, his spiky black eyelashes.
A strange joy filled her.
He got to his feet and his shadow moved over her, while drops of cool water fell from his body onto her hot skin.
Oh, holy fuck, the queues at Dublin airport. It looked like the whole of Ireland had come home from holidays today and were ahead of them in the passport queue. Johnny’s mood nose-dived.
He got out his phone to see if anything had happened while they’d been in the air. Jessie said, ‘Put that away, I’ve something to tell you.’
Words to strike dread into anyone’s heart. ‘I don’t know, babes,’ he said. ‘I’m feeling a bit post-holiday suicidal –’
‘I was talking to Paige. During the week. I found out something bad.’ Succinctly she laid it out for him.
‘Oh, God.’ He moaned softly. ‘That’s … oh, Jess, that’s bad. Is it any of our business, though? I don’t know.’
‘I don’t know either. I don’t know what to do.’
‘Nothing,’ he said urgently. ‘Do nothing.’
‘Okay. You’re right. There’s another thing. I found out why Barty didn’t come on this holiday.’
‘Oh?’ He was instantly alert.
As Jessie related the details of her conversation with Ferdia, Johnny’s dismay mounted. ‘Good for Ferdia, standing up for you. But how serious is it?’
‘Serious, he says. They might never be friends again. I’m sorry, babes,’ she said. ‘I know you’re upset. I’m upset too.’
His life, which only a day ago had seemed sunny and fulfilling, all of a sudden looked like an assault course: children and dogs and planes and meetings and chefs and piss-ups and DHL and mystery shoes and jaunting cars and stern phone calls from the bank and a secret bank account, which, despite all the people staying in the apartment, was filling up far too slowly.
‘Oh, there’s ours!’ Nell exclaimed, as a suitcase emerged from the mouth of the conveyor-belt.
Contemptuously, Ferdia watched as Liam let her drag their bag off the belt. Liam’s ‘bad back’ seemed to ebb and flow to suit him.
Now Nell was going from person to person, thanking everyone for an amazing holiday – Dilly, Tom, even Robyn. She spent a long time with Jessie, talking and laughing. Then it was his turn. Eagerly he stepped forward, only to receive a brief, awkward hug. ‘Thanks, Ferdia, I’d a great time.’ Her eyes slid past him and that was it.
Crushed, he watched her leave.
SIX WEEKS AGO
* * *
MONDAY, 31 AUGUST
Dublin
EIGHTY
Maybe the centre of Dublin might be shut because of a terrorist threat. Not a real one: Cara didn’t want anyone hurt. But she’d really appreciate something to prevent her from showing up to work today.
Since as long ago as last Wednesday, leaking anxiety into her final few days in Italy, she’d been dreading this morning. She’d have given anything to have this first day over and done with, to have had an encounter with every one of her colleagues and endured the unavoidable awkward hello. Even better, to be about a month down