Karl dropped the phone into his lap. He tried to concentrate on the road as he juggled his options. It would be better for him to meet the detective in charge of the case rather than a bunch of cops inside a police station treating him like a murderer. And Katie would be there, which was what he cared about the most. He needed to see her before he handed himself over because who knew how long it would be before he could hold her again.

In a police station they would process him like a regular criminal, ready to be handed over to the murder squad, not caring whether he was guilty or not. In a cell, awaiting interview, it might be hours. They had all that volume of crime to solve, after all. He might even be put in a mass cell with real criminals. But if he met the detective, they would get straight down to it. The guy would want the real killer, and if Karl was convincing enough, he hoped he might even be released within a couple of hours.

He cursed his stupidity – why had he, as a surveillance expert, never bothered to install CCTV at his own shop? The irony was crushing.

He looked at Liz.

‘The police are at my house. One of the men who chased us. He’s been murdered. In my shop.’

‘Set-up,’ she said firmly. ‘So that man who chased us is dead. He must have been killed by the one with the gun. He must be the leader.’

‘I have to go home,’ he said, careful not to mention exactly why. She didn’t have a loved one to get back to, and he didn’t want to remind her of that.

‘Home? I heard you mention something called St Dunstan’s. Sounds like a church. You’re meeting the police at a church? You think the police will be heading off to the church so you can safely sneak home? That’s foolish, Karl. They’ll be waiting at the house.’

A harsher tone, almost reprimanding, and it was a surprise. He wanted to argue the point, but he didn’t want to upset her. She’d been through enough.

‘Why would they do that? I just agreed to come in.’

‘In two hours. You think the police are going to wait? They have to assume you might use those hours to run. They will be hunting you. They’ll know you might go home.’

‘Even if they find out I’m innocent, it won’t happen in half an hour, will it? I might be locked up for a week, or a year. I can’t wait that long to—’ He caught himself in time.

But it didn’t matter. She looked at him through bedraggled hair. ‘It’s fine to mention your wife. I’m glad she’s okay. It wouldn’t be good if we both lost everything. You ran out on her this morning and want to see her before the police take you in. I understand. You love your wife. I would want the same.’

‘I do. I’m sorry about your husband. About how you found out. I don’t know what to say to you, Liz. I’m sorry.’

‘Just say you’ll think about this. If the police capture you before you hand yourself in, they won’t believe you ever planned to do so. If you go to the meet, that will be taken into consideration.’

He wasn’t surprised, given who her husband was, that she knew how the law worked. Knowledge learned during all the times he got arrested or investigated, no doubt. And he knew she was right. But he didn’t care. If he waited, he had no idea when he would see Katie. Certainly not within the next hour. But if he went home, at least there was a chance he could hold her. A sliver of a chance beat no damn chance at all.

‘And did you consider that the police might wait with your wife, since you requested that she be at the meeting? Or she might be taken to a police station?’

He said nothing. Of course he hadn’t thought of those things. This was uncharted territory for him.

‘There might also be other people.’

And that, he realised, was her real concern. She suspected that the bad guys might be waiting back at home for him. ‘If that’s the case, maybe Katie is in danger. Even more reason to go home.’

She stared at him. Every ounce of meekness seemed to have gone. She flicked her hair out of her face. No more tears, and no sadness in those eyes. She transformed before him. There had been a steady build-up in her tone, and it peaked now.

‘I’m not going with you. If that was part of the deal, forget it.’

Said with undeniable conviction. It made it easier for him to respond in kind.

‘So, what, you’re just going to hide for the rest of your life? Where are you going to go now that—?’

Anger had clouded his brain. He clamped his mouth shut. Too late. He saw the look on her face.

‘Now that my husband is dead?’

‘I didn’t mean to—’

‘Yes, you did. And yes, he is dead, and I’m alone. Which means the only person I have to look out for is you.’

He laughed. ‘Me? What am I, seven? I don’t need help. I’m capable of…’ He stopped. What had she done to warrant such an attitude? She’d tried to help him, that was all. Tried to convince him of the right thing to do while pushing aside her own fear and grief. He was a selfish dick, he realised. Katie might be scared and alone, but Liz’s husband lay cold and stiff in a morgue.

If their roles had been reversed, he would be a blubbering wreck. But Liz wasn’t. Her resolve was stronger than his, and that meant her logic might be, too. So, he had to accept that she could be right. The police would expect him to try to go home. They would be watching his house. They would grab him even if they believed he planned to turn himself in. They’d toss him in a cell, and leave him there until the cop called McDevitt came to see him. In a cell, he couldn’t comfort Katie.

‘At the first sign of trouble near your house, we turn around and run, okay?’ she said, surprising him. Had she come around to his way of thinking?

But then he saw the look in her eyes. Pity. It was a dangerous idea but she had seen the determination on his face. She knew that, regardless of the risks, he was going to go through with it, and the only thing she could do was help.

Because now she had become the protector, and he the sorry victim.