Jade very nearly had a heart attack as she saw Mark pulling out of his drive. Parked in the lane, her skin prickling with apprehension, she held her breath and waited. Then she closed her eyes with relief as Mark turned in the other direction. He must be running late to pick Poppy up from school, Melissa no doubt demanding his attention. As if the poor man hadn’t got enough on his plate without having to deal with his drug-addled wife’s drink problem. Jade understood why he felt he should stay – of course she did, she knew him – but surely he must realise by now that exposing his children to that kind of environment might be worse than the damage a broken home could wreak? But Mark would carry some guilt if he simply walked away from the needy cow. He couldn’t help his caring nature, which was obviously why he hadn’t sought further professional help yet. She would talk to him about it, subtly, when the time was right. Meanwhile, she had to up her game. If Mark was reluctant to do what it was blatantly obvious he should do and get her sectioned, then Jade had to make damn sure Melissa had every reason to leave him.

‘Are you sure it wouldn’t have been better to just take her in? You know, just tell him,’ Dylan asked, irritating Jade immensely. Hadn’t she already explained in great detail that Mark didn’t want the child?

Curtailing her impatience, Jade turned to him. ‘It would be too risky, Dylan,’ she said, arranging her face into a suitably sad smile. ‘He’s… unpredictable. And don’t forget, he’ll have his colleagues behind him whatever I say. Trust me, it’s better this way. She’ll be safer at my house, for now.’

‘But… Isn’t your house burned out?’ He was looking in the direction of her cottage, which was little more than a blackened shell. God, he really had been the last in the queue when they handed out brains.

‘I’ve made a nice space in the basement,’ Jade assured him. ‘I’ve got her favourite duvet and all her favourite toys. She’ll be fine.’

‘She looks a bit pale,’ Dylan said, glancing worriedly back to the girl.

Jade had to concede she definitely looked peaky, her complexion the shade of a delicate white lily. But the Calpol would help. And she’d probably feel better after a nice sleep. At least she wasn’t suffering at the hands of the bitch mother and paedophile father who’d made her short life such a misery. With any luck, she might slip off quietly, which had to be better than being stuffed in a kiln while still alive.

‘She needs some sun on her face, that’s all. And she’ll soon have it. As long as you do your bit tonight. I can count on you, can’t I, Dylan?’ Sighing soulfully, Jade made sure to look uncertain and vulnerable.

Dylan melted. ‘You can rely on me, Jade,’ he said manfully, reaching out a big paw for her hand. ‘I won’t let you down, I promise.’

‘Nor I you.’ Jade smiled tremulously. ‘I just can’t wait for all this to be over. For us to be together, as we should be.’ Aware he might need a little reminder of what their being together meant, she moved closer, one hand pressed to his cheek, her other seeking his groin, which had Dylan squeezing his eyes closed and emitting a low throaty groan in an instant.

Shit! Jade’s eyes sprang open as Dylan pressed his lips hard against hers and, clearly excited, proceeded to stuff his tongue deep into her mouth. Shuddering inwardly as he probed deeper, his tongue sliding around like a repellent slug, Jade moved her hand lower, applying just enough pressure to his balls to leave him wanting more, rather than with irreparable damage. ‘Tomorrow,’ she said breathily, easing away before he got it into his head that she was going to go the whole hog and give him a blow job.

Dylan emitted something between a wince and a moan. ‘Promise?’ he asked hoarsely.

‘Most definitely,’ Jade said, lowering her eyelashes and leaning in to press a placatory kiss to his overripe cheek. ‘Now, you know where you’re going, yes?’ she asked him, unclipping her seatbelt and climbing out.

‘Uh-huh.’ Dylan nodded, climbing across to the driver’s side of Melissa’s car, grimacing a bit as he went. ‘I’m following the satnav, and then when I reach my destination, I’m going to drive around a bit.’

‘And?’ Jade prompted him.

Dylan knitted his brow. ‘I’m going to drive slowly,’ he managed, with a decisive nod.

‘That’s right. And what else?’ Smiling, Jade encouraged him on.

‘I’m going to stay close to the kerb,’ Dylan said, looking pleased with himself.

‘Perfect.’ Jade beamed him another smile. ‘And remember, you’re doing this for your poor mother too, Dylan. We owe it to her to make sure that DI Cain gets hurt where it hurts most. We need to make sure his reputation is under suspicion. That he’s labelled unfit to be a policeman and a father. They’ll take him in for questioning. And as soon as they do that, I’ll be free. I can take my children and leave. No one will believe his word against mine once they realise what kind of person he is. Especially when I have a stable home with you if social services come snooping, which they’re bound to.’

She hoped the halfwit didn’t mess this up. Evidence Mark had been touring red-light districts was all Jade needed. She knew Melissa couldn’t possibly tolerate it.

‘Don’t forget to drive past the speed cameras fast,’ she reminded Dylan. ‘But not too fast.’ She wanted him to clock up a speeding ticket or two in the suspect part of the city, not get stopped. If that happened, Jade would have to claim he stole the vehicle, or kill him.

‘I won’t.’ Dylan fastened his seatbelt and clutched the steering wheel, his expression now one of steely determination.

Man on a mission, Jade thought wearily, rolling her eyes as she walked around to the tailgate to collect the bag Mark would have assumed was for her London trip, but which, in fact, had contained her necessary change of clothes for her meeting tonight. The question was, what to do with him when he’d accomplished his mission and she had no further need of him? A fall from the barn roof, possibly? No. She’d have to climb up there with him, or drug him and haul him up, which would be nigh on impossible without winching equipment. Hauling him over a beam in the barn, however? Yes, that might be an option. He’d murdered his mother, after all. That he’d chosen to hang himself rather than live with his conscience would be the natural tragic conclusion.