bit,” Quinn admitted. “It’s been a while since I got involved with a case. I do miss the practical side of archeology, but it’ll be a while until Gabe and I can sign up for a dig.”
Colin nodded. “How are Emma and Alex?”
“They’re well. There is also Mia. She’s going to be two this month.”
“Congratulations,” Colin said. “What’s she like?”
“A handful,” Quinn replied, smiling. “I didn’t know Emma as a toddler, and Alex was such an easygoing baby that I wasn’t quite prepared for the terrible twos, which, technically, have yet to begin. But what about you? You look well,” she said as she settled herself in the visitor chair and set the box of bones on Colin’s desk.
“I am to be married in June,” Colin said.
“Congratulations! I’m so pleased for you. Who’s the lucky lad?”
“His name is Adam, and he’s a florist,” Colin replied with a happy smile. “We met when I stopped in to order flowers for my mum’s birthday.”
“Have you a photo?”
Colin pulled his mobile out of a desk drawer and showed Quinn a picture of his intended. Adam had to be in his mid-forties, his broad face framed by an artfully trimmed beard and his soft brown eyes looking into the camera. Logan referred to stocky, bearded middle-aged gay men as teddy bears, and Adam certainly fit the bill. Although handsome in his own way, he was nothing at all like Logan, who, at thirty, still looked like a wild child and often acted like one.
“We are well suited,” Colin said, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself. “Adam is ready to settle down.”
“I’m happy for you, Colin. Truly,” Quinn said.
“How’s Logan?” Colin asked at last. “Is he still working at the London Hospital?”
“Logan is well. He transferred to A&E. He likes working the trauma cases. In fact, that’s where he met his new partner. Rafe brought in his mate, who’d been stabbed during a mugging outside a club.”
“Is it serious between them?” Colin asked. Quinn could see the pain in his eyes. Logan had hurt Colin badly, but it was clear to Quinn that Colin still carried a torch for Logan. She was glad he’d found the strength to move on and find happiness with Adam.
“Yes, it’s serious,” Quinn said. “They’re expecting their first child in April. It’s a boy,” she added.
“Are they using a surrogate?”
“Yes, and a donor egg, but the baby is Logan’s biologically. He’s so excited,” Quinn said, smiling at the memory of Logan’s joy when he’d first seen his son on an ultrasound scan.
“I’m happy for him,” Colin said. “That was what ultimately broke us up, you know,” he said conversationally.
“Was it?” Quinn had assumed it was Logan’s infidelity.
“Logan wanted children.”
“And you didn’t?”
Colin shook his head. “I like my life, Quinn. I have my job, my partner, my hobbies. I like to go out to nice restaurants and travel. Babies change all that, and frankly, I never felt the urge to be a dad. It’s not for everyone. I had initially agreed to think about having a child, because it was so important to your brother, but ultimately, I couldn’t get behind the idea. I simply wasn’t ready for that kind of lifestyle change.”
“I see. Well, you’ve made the right decision, then. For both of you.”
Colin nodded. “Yes, I think things have worked out for the best for us both. And I hear Gabe is doing well,” Colin said, changing the subject. “I read his book. Very insightful. It’s almost as if he’d been a woman during the Wars of the Roses himself,” Colin joked.
Or as close as he could get, Quinn thought, trying not to giggle.
“Now, tell me about this skelly,” Colin invited.
Quinn filled him in on the details of Rhys’s find. “Will Dr. Dhawan be working with you on this?” She hadn’t seen Sarita Dhawan since they’d worked on the crucifixion case from Ireland and wanted to say hello.
“Sarita is long gone,” Colin said. “She’s a Home Office pathologist now. Works out of a lab in East London. It was your cases that steered her toward working homicide. I have a new assistant—Shannon McCardle. She’s very competent,” he added.
“I look forward to meeting her.”
Colin stood and scooped up the box. “I’ll ring you in a few days.”
“Thanks, Colin. I hope you’re able to glean something useful. There was nothing buried with the skeleton except a silver ring that the deceased must have been wearing at the time of death, so whatever information we obtain will have to