Chapter 47
“I’m sorry, love, it’s going to be another late one, I’m afraid.” Swann listened as Alice sighed on the other end of the line. “We’ve had a breakthrough,” he continued. “It’s a big one.”
“Have they found her? Liisa, I mean.”
“Not Liisa, no.” Head lowered, he stood in his office, the aroma of takeaway food wafting in through the door. His team had ordered pizza. Elea had paid, as a thank-you for the hours they’d put in.
They had worked non-stop since Sophie Miller had identified the house much earlier in the day.
The owners of the rental property were none too happy, given that it was now a crime scene.
Officers had got to work, seizing anything that appeared to be of interest. The suspect had left in a hurry, with little time to clean up after himself.
He’d taken time to mop the floor, but fingerprints had been found on the mop handle.
Such mistakes were going to trip him up.
But now it was gone midnight and their officers needed sleep.
They were meant to have eleven hours between each shift, but Swann knew he’d see them all first thing.
Such a rule was discarded when working on cases like this; they would rest when the suspect was found.
He listened as Alice told him all about her day, focusing on every word as she spoke about their boys.
“Night, boss!” his sergeant spoke on the cusp of a yawn, before turning off his desk lamp. Most of the time Ray was sloth-like, counting the days to retirement and doing what was needed to get by. But even he had perked up as they closed in on the suspect.
Swann bade him goodnight. Sighing, he undid the top button on his shirt, watching the last of his officers filter out of the door.
Jamal finished tidying his desk, then pulled his coat and scarf on before leaving.
He lived on the outskirts of Lincoln, his flat a twenty-minute drive away.
Ollie and Kelly left together, laughing at some in-joke.
Ness turned back, gave Swann a flamboyant final wave.
He acknowledged her with a nod and a smile, keen to end his phone call.
“What are you doing up so late?” Swann asked Alice. “I thought you’d be in bed by now.” That wasn’t entirely true. He’d hoped she’d be in bed. He didn’t enjoy lying to the mother of his boys.
“I couldn’t sleep. You know I worry when you don’t come home.”
But Alice seemed to sleep less when Elea was around. “Go to bed, love. I’ll speak to Mum tomorrow, see if she can look after the twins for a few hours, so you can have a break. Go into town. Do some shopping . . .”
“And be on my feet all day? No, ta.”
“Go for a bit of pampering, then. Please. Let Mum come over. You know how much she misses them.”
“We’ll see,” Alice said dismissively. “We’ll talk whenever you get in.”
Swann muttered a few choice expletives as the line went dead.
Alice had stopped trusting his mum to help out with the kids when one of them fell from the sofa and ended up with a bump protruding from his skull.
It could have happened to anyone, but now his mum was in the doghouse.
Alice was not quick to forgive. She complained about being tired, but refused to accept help.
She would burn out one of these days. It didn’t help that he was lying.
He could easily be making his way home by now.
The reason for his lateness entered his office, a wry grin on her face.
She was carrying a pizza box. Elea was usually pretty health-conscious, but cold pizza was a guilty pleasure of theirs.
The nights they had both stayed up, eating pizza and drinking red wine, as they discussed the Ice Angels case.
It had consumed them, until the case turned cold.
While Elea kept up the momentum over the years, Swann had wanted to move on. That’s when the arguments began.
“Trouble in paradise?” Elea’s voice rescued him from the past.
Swann shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about Alice anymore. “How are you doing?” He put the onus on Elea.
“Good.” She looked at him with sincerity in her eyes. “It’s coming to an end. I can feel it. I’m ready.” She opened up the box and presented him with a slice of Hawaiian stuffed crust.
Swann raised an eyebrow. “It’ll play havoc with my indigestion.”
“Mind over matter,” Elea smiled.
They sat at his desk, enjoying the peace. It was almost like old times.