No Second Chances: A British police dog-handler mystery (Daniel Whelan #4)(7)

‘Oh, God! Poor girl! I didn’t know that. It’s no surprise that she settled for security.’

‘I don’t have to tell you not to repeat any of this, of course.’

Daniel favoured him with a pained expression.

‘And there was me, thinking of taking it straight to the papers.’

‘Yeah, sorry, mate.’

‘Well, I’d better let you get home before Meg starts to think we’re having an affair,’ Daniel joked, putting his empty mug down and getting to his feet. Beside him, Taz stood up, stretched and yawned.

‘Yeah, bugger off!’ Fred said disgustedly. ‘Always hanging around here, drinking my coffee. Can’t get rid of you.’

Daniel laughed. In his pocket, his phone began to trill and he took it out. It wasn’t a number he recognized and he wondered if it could be Lorna’s.

‘Hello?’

‘Is that Daniel Whelan?’ The voice was female but not Lorna.

‘It is.’

‘Oh. Hi. It’s um … Zoe Myers. We met yesterday.’

‘Oh, hello, Zoe.’ Daniel raised his eyebrows at Fred, who looked back intently. ‘What’s happened? Is your mum OK?’

‘Yes, fine – I mean, as far as I know. I’ve been at school all day but it wasn’t about Mum, anyway.’

‘Oh.’ Daniel was a little taken aback. ‘How can I help you, then?’

‘Um … Mum says you used to be a policeman …’

‘I was,’ he confirmed, wondering a little uneasily where the conversation was leading.

‘Um … could I talk to you? In confidence, I mean. You wouldn’t tell Mum?’

‘That depends …’

‘No! You mustn’t tell her. Please. She’s got enough to worry about, with not being able to get hold of Dad and everything.’

Daniel couldn’t argue with that, but he was wary of making promises he might later regret.

‘She told you about that, did she?’

‘Not exactly,’ Zoe admitted. ‘I overheard her leaving a message on his answerphone and she sounded upset. What’s going on?’

‘You should ask your mum about that, not me. I thought you said it wasn’t about your mum …’

‘It’s not. So, please can I talk to you? Please? I need help and I don’t know who else I can ask, but Mum can’t know, it’s important.’

Considering that she had met him for the first and only time just the day before and had then shown every sign of disliking him intensely, Daniel thought she must indeed be desperate.

‘OK. I won’t promise but if I can help you without telling her, I will. That’s the best I can say – take it or leave it.’

There came a low groan from the other end of the phone. ‘Oh, God! I don’t know …’

‘Well, take some time to think about it, if you like, and get back to me,’ Daniel said helpfully.

‘No!’ Her sharp reply surprised him. ‘I haven’t got time. I need to talk to you, now.’

‘OK. Well, the choice is yours.’

‘I haven’t got any choice,’ Zoe said with a touch of bitterness. ‘When can you come? Now?’

‘Come where? Are you at home?’

‘No. I’ve just finished school. I’m in Tavistock. Can you meet me in the town centre? There’s a coffee shop near the abbey that stays open late, do you know it?’

‘I expect I can find it,’ Daniel said. ‘Won’t your mum wonder where you are?’

‘She thinks I’m at an after-school club,’ Zoe said, with a lack of shame that suggested to Daniel that it might be an alibi she often used.

He arranged to meet her in twenty minutes and disconnected, looking thoughtful.

Fred Bowden raised his eyebrows. ‘Trouble?’

‘I don’t know. Very possibly,’ Daniel said, stowing the phone in his pocket once more. ‘No, scratch that. Almost certainly.’

He outlined the conversation and Fred shook his head.

‘Rather you than me, mate,’ he said with feeling.

‘I know but she sounded pretty desperate. I couldn’t just turn my back, could I?’

Fred, who knew a little of Daniel’s history, shook his head. ‘Knowing you, I suppose not. But you need to stop beating yourself up about that girl, my friend. It was a long time ago and it wasn’t your fault, whatever you choose to think.’

‘Yeah well, maybe I’ll stop when the nightmares do,’ Daniel said bleakly. The incident, involving a drug addict and his teenage hostage, had effectively ended his career in the police force, and had haunted his nights ever since.

Fred shook his head again and walked towards the door, putting a hand briefly on Daniel’s shoulder in passing.

Daniel found the coffee shop with no trouble and once inside, quickly located Lorna’s daughter sitting at a table against the side wall. The premises were small, with perhaps a dozen tables, about three-quarters of which were occupied. It didn’t seem a natural choice for a youngster, but perhaps that was the reason for its choosing, Daniel thought. Maybe she didn’t want to run the risk of being seen or heard by her school friends.

Zoe waved a hand when she saw him and he weaved his way between the close-packed tables to sit opposite her.