The Death Messenger (Matthew Ryan Book 2)(77)

‘I like him already.’

‘He’s a good man. A decent man.’

Ryan could see she was on the edge of going further. When she didn’t do so, he made it easy for her. ‘MI5 and/or Hilary must know there’s someone else on our team.’

‘But not who it is. I threw Hilary a bone. He doesn’t hold the monopoly on secrets. Officially, our unit consists of three. Two are sitting at this table. The other one is the inimitable Grace Ellis, retired cop and ex-colleague he knows I have a lot of time for.’

‘They swallowed it?’

She waggled her right hand. ‘Ford did ask Hilary to think again.’

‘The grey man’s not altogether stupid then.’

‘Hilary can’t disclose what he doesn’t know.’ O’Neil ran a hand through her hair and let it fall into place, a victorious expression on her face. ‘There are some things I like to keep from him. I’m not talking about his son’s sexual proclivities either.’

‘So, no need to warn Frank?’

O’Neil shook her head. ‘Newman, I’m not worried about. As he’s demonstrated already, he’s more than capable of watching his own back.’

‘And ours.’ Ryan pointed at her empty glass. ‘You ready for something stronger?’

‘You think I need it?’

‘I think I might.’ Ryan hoped she wasn’t going to turn weird again. He couldn’t handle that. They lapsed into silence. For the first time since he’d entered the bar, he became aware of music playing gently in the background. A P!nk track: ‘Just Give Me a Reason’. O’Neil was staring at him. Maybe she was going to flip. ‘Did I say something wrong?’

‘You didn’t say anything.’ She hesitated. ‘Ryan, you have something unrelated to the case on your mind. It’s getting in the way and I don’t like it.’

Was she hinting that he should now bring up her split from Forsythe Jnr? Ryan was confused. She’d made it clear that she didn’t want to talk about being dumped on her arse. He bought himself time by attracting the attention of a passing waiter. He ordered a pint, she chose gin and tonic with ice and cucumber.

O’Neil waited until the drinks arrived before continuing. ‘Well? Are you going to spit it out?’

‘The beer? No, it’s good.’ The joke fell flat.

Ryan put his glass down on the table, not knowing where to begin. She could never have married in secret. Regulations demanded that serving officers disclose a change in circumstances, so there would have been those in the know and those in the dark. Ryan was now somewhere in between: aware of what had happened, forbidden to discuss it. He was done with her avoidance tactics and felt compelled to say something.

Shit or bust, mate . . .

‘Guv, what’s been said can never be unsaid. I’ll take a hike if you want, but sooner or later you’ll have to talk to me. Although none of it is strictly my business, I can’t walk around like nothing’s happened. It’s unfair of you to ask me to. I don’t have a problem with knowing. Clearly you do.’ He never took his eyes off her. ‘It’s like you said – “something is getting in the way” – but not from my side. You’re the one who closed the door.’

Her glare could have knocked him over.

‘You want to know how I feel, is that what you’re saying?’

He gave it to her straight. ‘I don’t want you to talk about what happened if it upsets you. I just need to understand where your head is if we’re going to work together. More than that, I want the real you, not the one preoccupied with what Grace, Frank and I know about your personal life. Personally, I’d like to punch Forsythe’s lights out for what he did to you. But in the long run I reckon he did you a favour: you’re better off without him, Eloise.’

O’Neil held his gaze. ‘It’s hard for me to talk about.’

‘I know. What I don’t understand is what you ever saw in him. He’s a sleazebag.’

O’Neil panicked. ‘You’ve talked to him?’

‘No, of course not. I didn’t need to. For those who care to look, the preening arse is all over YouTube.’ He held out his mobile. ‘Check it out if you don’t believe me.’ She didn’t take it. ‘You know what else? Forsythe was everything I suspected he might be. It beggars belief how you could be taken in by such a nob.’

O’Neil laughed, but despite her efforts to shrug it off, she obviously wasn’t anywhere close to being over it. The subject was as raw today as last Christmas Eve. He should’ve spotted it long before now.

‘Do you still love him?’

‘No!’

That was all Ryan wanted to hear.

A stab of pain pierced his chest. Finding out that she’d been jilted had affected him more than he cared to admit. Statements as well as questions spilled out of his mouth in quick succession. He simply couldn’t help himself. ‘Callous bastard. Why didn’t the selfish prick have the guts to tell you sooner? What was it he found so threatening – your intellect, your independence?’

‘Who knows? He spars with women like me across a courtroom every day. Maybe he required a more subservient female to bolster his ego and open her legs at his command.’

‘He never explained why?’