The Judgement Book by Simon Hall Page A

just him and me, you see. I thought he might be jealous. But he was delighted.’
    ‘Idiot,’ said Claire. ‘But cute idiot.’
    She yawned, stretched out her arms. ‘You OK?’ Dan asked.
    ‘Just a little tired from last night. I was up late.’
    ‘The missing girl?’
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘I know I shouldn’t ask, but …’
    Claire sighed. ‘The perils of going out with a hack. Promise not for use in stories?’ Dan agreed and she told him about Alex Freedman’s disappearance.
    ‘We found her though,’ Claire added. ‘At a friend’s house. Upset, but fine. I took her home – after I’d had a little chat.’
    ‘About her dad’s fondness for younger women?’
    ‘Yep.’
    Dan steeled himself to ask. Despite years of being a journalist, raising some of the toughest of questions, there were still areas where it felt uncomfortable to tread.
    ‘And?’
    ‘No hint of anything like that. I didn’t ask the question directly, but she knew where I was coming from. She said he wasn’t a great dad, that he wasn’t around enough, but he’d never ever … well, you know.’
    Claire raised a hand to her mouth and stifled a laugh. ‘What?’ Dan asked.
    ‘What Alex said. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.’
    ‘Which was?’
    ‘She said her dad was “an arsehole”, but he wasn’t “that big an arsehole”.’
    Dan smiled too, couldn’t help it. ‘Kids, eh?’
    Claire looked at him, paused, said softly, ‘Yeah.’ Another hesitation, then, ‘Kids.’
    She seemed to want to add something, but instead pushed a stray lock of windblown hair back behind an ear, looked at Dan expectantly. He nodded.
    ‘I know exactly what you’re thinking. You reckon her anger towards her dad was just the usual teenage rebellion thing?’
    She studied him, and he couldn’t read her expression. Finally, she said, ‘Yes, I do, thankfully.’
    ‘And Mrs Freedman?’
    ‘Well, she said Will was a good man who worked hard and meant well, and all that kind of platitudes stuff, but …’
    ‘But?’
    ‘It didn’t even rise to the heights of being damned with faint praise. I could feel the anger. It’s fast taken over from the grief. That he could do that to her, and to Alex, seeing that prostitute and then leave them both alone in that way – leaving them to find his body …’
    Claire stopped abruptly, shook her head as if to clear it. ‘Look, can we talk about something else? I’d really like to leave work behind for a bit.’
    They walked on in silence. Sometimes no words were required. The cliffs, the sky, the sea were all. Dan glanced over his shoulder to where they’d parked the car.
    With a lover’s forbearance, Claire said, ‘Just a few more minutes. Then we can go and get you a beer. I’m really enjoying being out here.’
    ‘I must keep reminding myself I’m going out with a detective,’ mused Dan. ‘There’s no point trying to get away with anything. What am I going to do when it comes to buying your Christmas presents? And what if I ever have to arrange a surprise for you?’
    She pushed his shoulder playfully. ‘Like any good police officer, I know when to turn a blind eye. Don’t let any of that stop you spoiling me. If you do, then you’ll really be in trouble.’
    Claire pointed to a path that wound inland towards an old engine house. ‘Can we go and sit there for a while? I’d like a few minutes just relaxing and looking at the view before we head back. It’s so wonderfully calming.’
    Dan nodded his agreement. The brief moments of their weekend escapes were the perfect antidote to their working days. No savagery, crime, grimness and cruelty, just the pure and clean countryside. It was the ideal remedy for the human world.
    The track was thinner than the coastal path and bounded by gorse bushes. One pricked Dan’s calf. ‘Ow,’ he yelped, petulantly kicking out at it.
    ‘That really showed it,’ said Claire. ‘It won’t forget that lesson in a hurry.’
    ‘It made me feel better,’