Tony Hill u Carol Jordan 08 - Cross and Burn

name. Can you imagine the headlines?’ She shuddered. ‘It’s so ironic. One of the reasons she’s convinced he’s the one is that the victims look a bit like Carol Jordan. According to her armchair psychology, he’s killing surrogates because he can’t have her. But the truth is, the only person Tony would kill for is Carol.’ Paula sighed and opened the fridge again. This time, she took out a pot of yoghurt. She stared at it for a long moment then put it back and closed the door again.
    Elinor put her arms around her from behind and kissed the soft skin behind her ear. ‘What are you going to do about it?’
    ‘I don’t know. I think Fielding’s testing me. Am I good enough to be her bagman? If I put a foot wrong, she’ll have my stripes, maybe even my job. So I have to be very careful not to be seen to be helping Tony. But I can’t just stand by and let this happen to him. I understand exactly how the momentum builds behind an arrest.’
    ‘The juggernaut of justice.’
    ‘Exactly. People focus on anything that supports the arrest and dismiss any faint indications of other directions.’ She leaned her forehead on the cool fridge door. ‘I’ve never missed the MIT more.’
    ‘Carol would know what to do.’
    ‘Carol would never have arrested Tony in the first place. She’d have viewed the evidence against him as some kind of pointer towards the real killer. Or something.’
    ‘You need her now. She’d be ferocious as a lioness protecting her cub.’
    Paula gave a sad little laugh. ‘Once upon a time, maybe. Now I’m not so sure. Whatever the glue was that held those two together seems to have come unstuck. And besides, she’s not a cop any more.’
    ‘All the better, surely? Paula, I know you. You need to do something or you’re going to be awake all night, smoking too much and drinking too much coffee and twitching. And taking years off your life, which makes me very unhappy because I need you to be around for a very long time. Go and find Carol. Let her do the heavy lifting.’
    Paula shook with silent laughter. ‘You’re crazy. You say “go and find her” like it was straightforward. She’s gone off the radar. Even Stacey doesn’t know where she is.’
    ‘Stacey only knows machines. You know people.’
    Elinor’s words triggered something inside Paula’s head. Not quite fully formed, but the teasing start of something. It was interrupted by the doorbell. ‘That’ll be the taxi,’ Elinor said. ‘I’ll see Rachel off the premises. Don’t move, I’ll be right back.’
    Preoccupied, Paula opened the fridge for a third time and took out a plastic container of leftover chilli. She flipped the edge of the lid open and stuck it in the microwave. By the time Elinor returned, she was forking it into her mouth, frowning into the middle distance.
    ‘She’s gone,’ Elinor said. She sighed. ‘It hasn’t been an easy afternoon. She wants to take Torin to Bristol with her.’
    ‘That’s good, surely?’
    ‘Except that Torin doesn’t want to go. His arguments are very reasonable – his friends are here, his school, his band —’
    ‘He’s in a band?’
    ‘Apparently he sings. Who knew? Also, he wants to be somewhere that holds memories of his mum. Not ripped out of the ground and transplanted to a strange city to live with people he barely knows.’
    ‘Like you say, reasonable.’ Paula was focusing on Elinor now, realising there was more going on than was being said. ‘And?’
    ‘It’s a “but” really, not an “and”. But he has no family here. And he’s only fourteen.’ She took a deep breath. ‘He wants to stay with us, Paula. At least until his dad deploys back to the UK.’
    Paula’s eyes widened. ‘Here? Living with us?’
    Elinor pushed a stray strand of hair from her face. ‘I don’t know how I can say no.’
    Paula’s smile was wry and knowing. ‘Even if you wanted to. Fuck, Elinor, this wasn’t in my life plan. Somebody else’s teenage kid.’
    ‘Right now, he’s a good kid, Paula. What happens to him next will determine if he carries on being a good kid. You know that. You see the results of fucked-up young men every working day. So do I. A&E is full of them. I think we should say yes.’
    ‘What does Auntie Rachel say?’
    ‘She’s not happy. But then, I have a sense that Auntie Rachel isn’t happy about much in her life. Ultimately, it’s his father who has to make the decision. He might think the worst thing that could happen to