TOYL

jacket and trousers.
    ‘I don’t understand,’ Will said, looking at Gasnier’s clothes for some explanation.
    ‘What car am I driving?’ Gasnier said.
    ‘I… I don’t know,’ Will admitted, now not understanding where the conversation was heading.
    ‘A BMW,’ Gasnier said, answering his own question. ‘An unmarked BMW. DS Davies and I aren’t in uniform. Yet you ran over to us, pretty damn certain that we were the police. How did you know that, Will? And please don’t tell me that it’s because we look like police officers – I don’t want to hear that.’
    ‘I panicked,’ Will admitted. ‘When I heard you at the door, I just panicked. I thought that it would just look bad – that you might think I had something to do with it.’
    ‘Why did you come to Stuart’s apartment, Will?’ Gasnier asked.
    ‘I came to… threaten him,’ Will said. ‘Look, I know this sounds really bad.’ He gripped the back of his neck with both hands. ‘And that’s why I panicked. But I’d already called the ambulance by that stage. I wasn’t going to leave him.’
    ‘Why were you going to threaten him?’
    ‘I wanted him to stay away from Emma. He really hurt her when he just walked out a few years ago, and I didn’t want him to do it again. I didn’t want him taking advantage of her when she was so upset about Dan.’
    ‘You didn’t think he was responsible for Dan’s disappearance?’
    ‘No. But I know now that he was.’
    Gasnier waited a few seconds in quiet contemplation.
    ‘If there’s something you’re not telling me,’ he said at last, ‘something that could help us locate Dan, then you’re better off telling me now.’
    Just then the bedroom door opened, saving Will from having to answer.
    ‘You’d better come and take a look at this,’ DS Davies said, beckoning Gasnier. Will made to follow him into the bedroom.
    ‘Not you,’ Gasnier said, placing a palm across his chest. ‘You wait there, and pray that Stuart Harris pulls through.’
    Will watched as the door closed. He turned around just as the paramedics carried Stuart past on a stretcher.
    ‘Will he be okay?’ Will said, following them out of the flat and onto the landing.
    ‘Touch and go,’ the paramedic answered, ‘but we’ll do our best.’
    Will watched helplessly, praying that this affair hadn’t claimed yet another victim.

52

    ‘What’s the matter?’
    Miranda stood at the edge of the study, waiting for Edward to turn around. But he didn’t – he just continued to stare out of the window. He’d been holed up in the study for over half an hour now, and had returned home without even announcing his arrival. Miranda was getting worried; maybe he was having second thoughts about the baby.
    ‘Is it something to do with Will?’ she ventured.
    ‘You were listening in to my conversation,’ Edward said sadly.
    ‘I… I didn’t mean to,’ Miranda said, edging into the room. ‘I was coming to see if you were all right and I heard you talking, that’s all.’
    Edward turned around. Miranda was shocked at how sad and old he looked. She thought that maybe he had been crying, although she’d never seen him cry before.
    ‘What did you hear?’ he asked.
    ‘Err, nothing really.’
    ‘But you knew I was talking to Will.’
    ‘Yes, but I didn’t hear any details.’
    ‘Couldn’t hear any details,’ he corrected. ‘You tried to listen but couldn’t hear.’
    ‘No,’ she denied. ‘I wasn’t listening in on you, Edward. What is this, anyway? All this secrecy?’
    ‘You don’t want to know.’
    ‘Edward, if this is going to work then we’ve got to trust each other. Love is about trust. You do love me, don’t you?’
    ‘I can’t take this right now. I might go for a walk.’
    ‘But you’ve only just got back in,’ she said, her voice softening into a more conciliatory tone. ‘Can’t we sit down and have a chat? You’ve been acting strange for a few weeks now – I’ve noticed it. Maybe if you talked things through, then it might help.’
    Edward just looked at her. ‘How do you feel about the baby,’ he said, gesturing towards Miranda’s midriff.
    ‘Feel? I don’t understand. I’m happy about it, if that’s what you mean. I hope you are too.’
    ‘I didn’t mean like that. I mean, what are your feelings towards your child.’
    ‘It’s your child too,’ Miranda countered.
    ‘I know. What I’m trying to say is, even though the baby hasn’t even been born yet, even though you’ve