Chapter 3
She picked up her bra from the floor, her gaze on her sleeping companion.
What was his name again? Jake? Or was it Mike?
He was facing away from her, his tousled brown hair soft against her pillow, his muscled shoulders facing the wall.
It had been reckless, going to bed with a virtual stranger, but she had seen it as one last treat before she knuckled down to work.
She finger-combed her cropped blonde hair, wondering what it would take to wake the man up.
“Hei,” she shook his shoulder. “Rise and shine. Time to go.” She needed to find her trainers so that she could start the day with a run.
“What . . . what time is it?” the man asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Just gone four. And I must get ready for work, so I need you gone.”
“What are you? A milkman?”
Elea smiled at the thought. “Yes, that’s right, so get a move on or all the kids will be going to school without their Weetabix, and we can’t have that.”
He stretched his arms as he yawned. In the light of sobriety, he appeared an awful lot younger than her. God! she thought. He must be in his early thirties. Not far from a ten-year age gap. She did not allow the thought to slow her as she darted into the bathroom and brushed her teeth.
He was still there when she came out. She arched an eyebrow when he spoke.
“Can we do this again?”
A smile curled on Elea’s lips as she stood, assured in her nakedness. “Sorry, no. But it was fun.” Realising how callous that sounded, she approached and kissed him on the cheek. “It was more than fun. But I start a new job today and I can’t afford to get distracted. You understand, don’t you?”
“Ah yes, the milk round. You’ve got my number if you change your mind.” He smiled, pulling on his trousers.
She stood at her window watching him walk along the Brayford, head down, collar pulled up against the January chill.
Not that it was cold for Elea. Compared to where she came from, English winters were positively balmy.
She turned her gaze to the inland harbour, appreciating the frost-glistened view.
The DoubleTree hotel was ideally located, accommodating her need to be close to nature with the convenience of bars and restaurants.
It was certainly convenient last night, given that she’d met her new bedfellow in The Electric cocktail bar on the hotel’s fifth floor.
Elea slipped two paracetamols into her mouth and swigged from a bottle of water.
The last thing she felt like was a run, but if she didn’t get out and move, she’d be agitated all day.
Besides, she had a bet to win. Swann had told her she’d never make it up Lincoln’s precipitous cobbled Steep Hill without getting out of breath.
She tingled at the thought of seeing him again.
That man. He drove her crazy, and yet she’d dropped everything to help him.
His call had come during a turbulent period of her life and had been a welcome one.
She needed to straighten herself out and couldn’t wait to get her teeth into the case.
Swann had spoken of similarities between this set of kidnappings and the case in her hometown more than a decade ago.
She’d dealt with many investigations since then, throwing herself into solving the most violent of crimes.
But she’d never forgotten Liisa. Time stood still as she rested one hand on the windowpane, watching a quiet flurry of snow line the ground outside.
She wondered what Liisa was doing now, just as she’d wondered every day since she had disappeared on her way home from school.
According to her senior officers, the case was closed and Liisa was most likely dead.
But one day Elea would prove them wrong.
She would not rest until she brought her daughter home.