Mr. Nobody(43)
He opens his mouth but I cut him off. “No, Chris. Stop. Before you say anything, just shush. Let’s go to my office.” I throw a quick look around the canteen: people are just going about their day, thankfully showing no interest in us.
Chris drops his smile as instructed. But the crinkles at the corners of his eyes remain.
Jesus. He really is pleased to see me.
“Can we, please?” I gesture out of the canteen.
“Oh, yeah, sure, lead the way,” he says cheerfully.
22
DR. EMMA LEWIS
DAY 8—CHRIS POOLE
As soon as the door closes, he pulls me into a bear hug. His strong arms close around me, smushing my face against the expanse of his uniform jacket.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hear his voice rumbling through his chest and it’s oddly soothing. Irritated, I force myself to pull away.
“That’s a very good question,” I say evasively.
“I was not expecting to see you today. At all.” He pulls back to take me in. My adult face, my late-bloomer features. “God, look at you. You look…” He pauses. “Different. And you’re a doctor now!” His eyes scan me as if he’ll somehow locate the doctor part of me if he looks hard enough. Or perhaps he’s looking for the teenager part of me he used to know? “Not just a doctor. The doctor, I hear? Congratulations…mate.”
“Thanks, Chris. And you…” I reciprocate, gesturing to his uniform. I step back and walk behind my desk, putting it safely between us. He stands there studying me, a smile in his eyes. He always was sunshine, Chris, warm sunshine. I can’t help but smile back at him, in spite of everything. In spite of the fact that him recognizing me might screw up everything. I’ve only been here a few hours and bloody everyone seems to recognize me.
Chris and I were in the same year at school, we were all in the same big group of friends: boys, girls, it didn’t seem to matter so much back then. Where are they all now? Do they have kids? Are they all still alive?
“How long’s it been?” he asks, then answers his own question. “It must be, what, fifteen years. What have you…how have you been? How’s Jim?”
“Fourteen years actually…and it’s Joe now. Yeah, he’s good; he’s married, has a kid.” Chris’s eyes widen in mock horror at the mention of a kid, I guess it’s safe to say he definitely doesn’t have any just yet. “And I’m good…I’m…God, I don’t know where to start really, Chris, sorry, it’s been such a long time,” I gush. “Um, but it’s great to see you!”
He pulls out the chair opposite me and negotiates his bulky uniform down into it. This is not going to be over anytime soon, I realize with a sinking heart. This is the police liaison Nick told me to expect this afternoon. Chris is the one who’s come here to give me an update on the police investigation. I’m going to have to get through this reunion before we get to the meat of the case. I sit down, still smiling, keeping the desk between us. I hope he doesn’t see the panic in my eyes.
“It’s great to see you too,” he says earnestly. “Really good. Honestly.” Then his expression changes. “I, er, I looked you up a few years ago, Marn.” He uses my old name, and he’s doing it deliberately. He’s broaching the elephant in the room. “To see what happened to you after…well, after you left. Looked you up on the station system; I only had the name Marni Beaufort, though. Probably shouldn’t be telling you this, should I?” he says with a raw honesty I find strangely intoxicating. I shrug mutely. Oddly enough, it feels good to know somebody noticed us dropping off the face of the planet.
He nods understandingly. “I saw they’d changed your name on the police database.” There’s a question in there somewhere. And we both know the question is, After everything that happened, are you okay?
“Yeah,” I reply as simply as I can, but it comes out breathier than I had intended. Yeah, they changed my name and yeah, I’m okay. Most of the time.
There’s a silence filled with more questions, unasked ones.
“I just didn’t realize you were a bloody doctor, though!” He beams at me again.
I laugh, grateful for the change of subject. “And you’re a policeman?”
“I know. Like father, like son.” He grimaces, but then his face turns ashen as he realizes what he’s just said. Like father, like son. “Oh Christ, sorry. I didn’t mean because of…Just ’cause—”
“Yes, I know, Chris, it’s fine. Your dad was a policeman and now you’re a policeman. It’s fine. Seriously.” I smile. “Yeah, I remember your dad. He was a lovely, lovely man.”
Chris relaxes. “Dad? Let’s not get carried away here. He’s all right—well, on occasion. Christmas was a little fraught if you ask me, but yeah, he’s all right, all told.”
We stare at each other as another silence falls between us. I take in his features, his softly tousled blond hair, his strong stubbly jaw. “Chris,” I say finally. “You can’t tell anyone. Who I am. You can’t mention anything about before.”
His half-smile vanishes. “I know, Emma.” He uses my proper name, my new name, and I like the way he says it, the fullness of it. “No, of course, I know. This Mr. Nobody case is already all over the place, I don’t think bringing Marni Beaufort into it would be at all helpful. No need to worry on my account. I just came to tell you that we’re here to help in any way with your investigation. And likewise, if and when he does start talking, keep us in the loop, okay? We’re eager to get him back to his family or whoever is missing him. But for now, we can supply you with all our background on the case so far, if that would be any help?”