sat staring miserably down at the floor. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘That doesn’t bring back Mac,’ Eddie rumbled. ‘Or any of the other people who died.’
‘No, it doesn’t. But . . .’ He looked up, meeting his son’s icy gaze. ‘I did what I did because I was trying to save my own arse. I admit that. And now I completely understand why you took a swing at me in England.’ He shrugged – not disdain, but a kind of acceptance. ‘To be honest, I can’t help thinking now that you showed remarkable restraint.’
‘If Holly hadn’t put herself in front of you,’ Eddie told him, ‘I wouldn’t have stopped.’
‘And I would have deserved it. Well, up to a point.’ A faint attempt at a smile. ‘But when your granddaughter’s braver than you are, it’s probably a sign that you need to reassess some things in your life. Like . . .’ He sighed. ‘Like your relationship with your son.’
Eddie remained silent, compelling Nina to speak up. ‘In what way?’
Larry was not relishing whatever admission he was about to make. ‘I, er . . . I think I’ve misjudged you, Edward. I always thought of you as the boy you used to be – not the man you’ve become. But, well . . . you’ve changed. You grew up, you took on responsibilities for things bigger than just yourself. And . . . it’s made me realise that maybe I never did.’
He turned his eyes back down to the floor, not awaiting approbation but simply mentally worn from having forced out the confession. Nina looked between the two men, wondering which would speak first.
It was Eddie. ‘That’s something I never thought I’d hear.’ But there was no malice or criticism to it, merely a statement of fact.
‘It’s something I never thought I’d say,’ replied Larry. ‘But I have, so, there you are. I hope you’ll accept it.’
Eddie held him in suspense for several seconds before delivering his reply. ‘I’ll think about it.’
His father had clearly been wanting more, but more or less managed to cover his downhearted look. ‘I suppose that’s the best I could hope for.’
A noncommittal sound, then Eddie tried to change the subject. ‘How is Holly? And Lizzie?’
‘Elizabeth’s fine; you know her, she always pushes on no matter what. Holly was very upset about losing your grandmother, as you can imagine, but she’s a strong kid. She’s handling it. What about you?’
‘Me? Well, obviously I was upset about Nan too. I should have been there with her.’ He considered that, then gave Nina an apologetic look. ‘I mean, I wish I could’ve been there to see her one last time.’
‘She would have liked that,’ said Larry, ‘but I meant what about you, personally? You disappeared for three months, and it looks like you’ve been in the wars. What with the cuts and bruises, and the . . .’ Larry indicated his chin. ‘The face fungus.’
‘Why does nobody like my beard?’ Eddie said with a sigh. ‘But yeah, I’ve had a few scrapes. Par for the course when you’re on the run because you’ve been accused of murder. Speaking of which, I need to get going.’
Nina hurriedly blocked the entrance to the bedroom once more. ‘Eddie, I’m not going to let you go again.’
‘We’ve been through this – I’ve got to. I can’t clear myself without that code of Kit’s, and I’m not going to bring you down with me as well.’
‘No, Eddie,’ she insisted. ‘Whatever happens, we’re going to deal with it together, okay? If you think I’m going to let you go again now that I’ve got you back, you’re really, really mistaken.’
‘How are you gonna stop me? Tie me to the bed? Not that you haven’t done that before, but—’
‘We have company,’ Nina hurriedly reminded him, blushing.
‘Well, maybe I should get going,’ said Larry uncomfortably. He went to the door, then hesitated, curious. ‘There’s something that can clear you, Edward? Why don’t you tell the police?’
‘Because we don’t know what it means,’ said Nina. ‘It’s a number, a code. We think it’s important, but we don’t know why.’
‘What number?’
‘What, you think you’ll be able to work it out?’ Eddie said in a cutting tone. ‘A mathematical genius –’ he nodded at Nina – ‘and an MI6 agent couldn’t find the answer, but a bloke who works in shipping can?’
‘Maybe it’s a shipping number,’ Larry replied defiantly.
‘Ah . . . that’s actually not a bad idea,’ Nina had to admit. ‘And really, it’s not like it could hurt.’
‘All right, whatever,’