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.It was bitterly cold and he would be freezing.The rain earlier in the day meant he might be soaked through, too, and beyond his carefully maintained environment he would be petrified.But as the minutes and hours ticked by, the vision that loomed terrifyingly larger was of Jamie lying lifeless and beyond fear in some dirty, back street alleyway.As darkness enveloped the city, black shadows lurked in the emptiness.The lights were inadequate and Anna realised that she would need a torch if she was to cover everything and she was exhausted.She would go home and eat something, have a short rest, collect a torch and then she would start again.Mariner left the office late.He could no longer think straight, which was probably why, ten minutes later, he found himself sitting in his car outside Anna Barham’s flat.He didn’t know quite why he was here.What was he planning to do? Apologise? Explain? Offer some comfort? Ha!That was a joke.He caught a whiff of something acrid and unpleasant.His clothes reeked of the filth and smoke of the interview room, so before going into her building, he walked over to the canal to allow some fresh air to wash over him.Up on Farmer’s Bridge, he leaned his elbows on the railings and looked along the glistening oily strand, dotted with lamplight, that disappeared into the darkness.Just up ahead the canal split.To the left began the Farmer’s Bridge locks, a series of deep watery vaults that took the canal down underneath the city.Up ahead, five hundred yards along the main route, the bright lights of the Brindley Place restaurants vibrant with activity; friends and couples enjoying a night out.He’d never been part of that.This was where he belonged, on the outside looking in.If you carried on beyond that past the tourist areas, through the university complex and beyond, eventually you’d come to his home.It made him and Anna Barham practically neighbours, he thought suddenly, on the same continuum but poles apart.He was procrastinating.Mariner hadn’t imagined he could ever be reluctant to see Anna Barham, but facing up to her now was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do.He had no answers, only more questions.The desire to turn back the clock and make everything right again as intense as a physical pain.He stood longer, mustering the courage to go up to her flat, but in the end he didn’t have to.As he looked out over the canal a small familiar figure emerged from the gloom on the towpath below.Initially he couldn’t be sure that it was her.The posture was all wrong.Her shoulders were hunched, and her feet dragging.Christ, he thought, I’ve done that.‘Anna?’ he called out to her.Immediately her face lifted, and her pace quickened as she hurried towards him, injected with sudden optimism.The transformation cut through him.‘You’ve found him! Have you found him?’‘No.’ Mariner shook his head, extinguishing the flame of hope with a single word.‘I’m sorry.’She crumpled again, devastated.‘What do you want then? Why are you here?’ Even in the dim halo cast by the streetlights she looked pale, and her eyes red-rimmed.‘I just came to see that you’re okay,’ he said, lamely.‘Okay?’ she was incredulous, though her lower lip trembled.‘You’ve got a nerve.’ Anger began to take over.‘This is all down to you.If you hadn’t barged in…’‘I thought you were in danger.You were in danger.You vanished without telling anyone where you were.What did you expect me to do?’‘Nothing.It was your weekend off! Don’t you get it?They had Jamie! They told me if I contacted the police they wouldn’t guarantee his safety! And you gate-crashed the whole thing like a bull in a fucking china shop! What the hell were you playing at??’‘I was trying to help,’ said Mariner, lamely.‘Well you didn’t, did you? You’ve ruined everything.You shouldn’t have interfered!’ And unable to contain her fury any longer, she hit him, a stinging blow across the face that jarred his still fragile nose.Despite the sudden rush of heat down the inside of his left nostril, Mariner didn’t move.Unable to meet his eyes, she looked away, jamming her hands down in her pockets.Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, though she seemed not to notice.‘You’re bleeding again,’ she said, finally, glancing up at him.Her anger had moved on like a passing storm, leaving her weary and desolate.‘You’d better come up.’ Cupping a hand under his dripping nose, Mariner followed her in silence.Standing in the lift he wanted to reach out and put a comforting arm around her, but she kept her distance.This impotence thing was spreading through him like wild fire.Her flat wasn’t the same one he’d been into just a couple of nights previously.It was a bomb site.There were spent coffee mugs and glasses on nearly every surface.Clothes were draped over furniture and it was untidy and neglected.In the bright light he could see that she was the same.She wore no make-up and her hair was unbrushed, her baggy clothes carelessly thrown on.Mariner followed her into the living room where from beneath a pile of clothing she unearthed a box of tissues.‘Thanks.’ Mariner took it from her as his mobile rang.It was Knox.‘Boss? I’ve just picked up something on the radio.A serious RTA involving a young IC 1 male, close to the city centre.He was behaving erratically and ran out in front of a vehicle.’ A wave of revulsion struck Mariner and he struggled to keep his voice normal.‘Okay, thanks.Give me a minute.’‘I’ve got to go,’ he said to Anna, hoping that his tone didn’t betray the emotions raging inside him.‘Please stay here now.We’ll find Jamie.I promise you.’ Pressing a wad of tissues to his nose, he hoped to God that they hadn’t already
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