he and the bloke I saw him with might be moving on.’
‘What is it you want me to do?’ he asked evenly.
‘At the very least, I wondered if you could get the team to do a check on the guy looking after him? Find out his name and history, if he’s on the sex-offenders’ register, that kind of thing.’
He sat up straight and cleared his throat.
‘If you think there is a genuine likeness then I have an obligation to report this to my senior investigating officer who in turn will have an obligation to investigate. If you want to do that then I can put the wheels in motion. I’ll need you to make a formal statement and Jason will have to do the same.’
‘Does Jason have to be involved? It can’t be done on the quiet?’
‘In order to begin the investigation we would need to get you both on record.’ He was about to continue when something seemed to catch his eye.
‘Get us both on record about what?’
I turned to see Jason standing on the threshold to the living room. His shoulders were slumped, his chest concave. He looked like a punctured balloon. The crackle that had surrounded him these last few weeks was gone. The journalist showing up today seemed to have broken the storm.
‘Heidi was telling me about a child you saw the other day. Heidi thought he looked like Barney?’
Jason looked at me.
‘I keep thinking about him,’ I said, scrambling my defence. ‘I was asking if they could look into it.’
‘I thought we’d agreed. You were just …’ He faltered and turned to Martin. ‘Judgements were definitely clouded.’ He turned back to me, his voice gentle. ‘Investigating is a waste of time. It would divert manpower away from valid leads. We’d have to get Vicky involved. Think it through.’
On reflex, Martin looked at me. Embarrassed, even after all this time, to talk about the old wife in front of the new.
‘Have you told Vicky?’ asked Martin. ‘Has she seen the child?’ And there it was again; the apologetic eye flicker.
‘Heidi?’ Jason looked to me for a response.
I blushed.
‘It does sound ridiculous.’
‘So?’ asked Martin. ‘Do you want me to talk to my SIO?’
‘That’s up to Heidi.’
I met Jason’s gaze. He smiled, as though some kind of an understanding had passed between us.
‘I was seeing things I wanted to be there.’ I bit my lip. ‘I shouldn’t have brought it up.’
‘That’s settled then.’ Jason’s smile broadened. ‘Now, if we’re all done here, I could do with some help sorting out the garden.’
‘Of course.’ Martin got to his feet. He put out his hand to stop me from doing the same. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got it.’
Alone in the living room, I collapsed back into the cushions. The sound of footsteps in the hall soon made me sit back up. It was Martin.
‘That kid,’ he said, checking to make sure Jason wasn’t loitering somewhere behind. ‘What you said about following up every lead.’ He hesitated. ‘I shouldn’t be doing this, but if you can get a photo then I might be able to pass it on to our forensic artist. It’s not an exact science, but they could compare him with the age progression images they’ve already done.’ He made a camera sign with his hands. ‘It needs to be a good, clear picture of his face, otherwise it won’t work.’
I bowed my head in thanks.
‘I can’t promise anything, but maybe we can find a way to put your mind at rest.’ At this, he headed back outside, presumably before Jason could notice he was missing.
Feeling lighter than I had in days, I hugged myself and smiled. A picture, of course. All I needed was a picture.
Chapter Thirteen
Later, with the house to ourselves, we set about putting things straight. I focused on the kitchen while Jason kept to the garden. Every now and again our paths would cross. I’d place a rubbish sack next to the back door or Jason would transport a stack of stray plates to the sink. Each time it happened was a surprise. As though, until that moment, we had forgotten the other person was there. We didn’t acknowledge each other or even make eye contact; instead we’d weave and dip, hands in the air, hips sucked back, locked in a deft, silent tango.
The first time I knocked into him was by accident. We were in front of the fridge, going in opposite directions, and my elbow caught him sharp in the ribs. I didn’t apologise.