‘No problem. I think he probably saved my life, so this is the absolute least I can do.’
‘Well . . . thank you again. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.’
Gemma reached a hand out for the bag, and Hannah felt disappointment wash over her. This was supposed to be a symbolic act. She needed to share in Daniel’s emotion.
She tilted her head to insert her gaze into the hallway behind Gemma. ‘Is Daniel around? I’d love to give these to him personally. Do you think that would be okay?’
Gemma grew visibly uncomfortable. ‘Well, I don’t like to get him too excited at this time of night. It takes him ages to calm down again, and he won’t sleep.’
Hannah struggled to keep a smile on her face. What an anti-climax this was turning out to be. A shit end to a shit week.
‘Oh. Right. That’s fine. In that case, I’ll just—’
She was interrupted by a loud yell from behind Gemma.
‘Lieutenant Columbo!’
Daniel’s head appeared over his mother’s shoulder.
‘You’ve come back!’ he said. ‘How’s your head now? Are you better? Did you catch the man who did it? Is he in jail? Did you find your phone? Have you watched any more Adam-9?’
‘Hi, Daniel. Actually, it’s Adam-9 I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve got a few things here you might like.’
Hannah didn’t care if she was overstepping a mark. She was already being pulled into his enthusiasm. She couldn’t simply walk away and miss what was to come.
‘Oh my gosh,’ Daniel said, staring at the bag of goodies. ‘Mum, did you hear that? She brought me stuff. Adam-9 stuff.’
Gemma put on a more welcoming smile. ‘I think you’d better come in.’
They all went through to the living room. Daniel continued to jabber, almost exclusively about Adam-9. Gemma stepped away, giving them some space but maintaining observation.
‘Okay, Daniel,’ Hannah began. ‘You said you’ve got tons of Adam-9 stuff, right?’
‘Yeah, tons. I collect everything.’
‘All right, but have you got one of these?’
She reached into the bag and pulled out an action figure. Daniel’s eyes bulged.
‘Oh my gosh! I’ve never seen one like that before. Where did you get it?’
‘We brought it all the way from Japan.’
‘Japan? You went shopping in Japan for me?’
‘Well, actually it was for my daughter. But she said you can have it, because it’s your birthday soon and you love Adam-9 so much.’
Daniel took hold of the figure and stared at it in amazement. The utter delight on his face squeezed Hannah’s heart. She was so glad she hadn’t missed this.
‘Wow. Your daughter is so kind. You said her name’s Tilly, didn’t you?’
‘You remembered.’
‘Please, will you thank Tilly for me?’
‘I . . . Yes, of course I will.’
She caught Gemma looking at her. Something passed between them. Something only mothers knew.
She distracted herself with another dip into the bag. ‘I’ve got other stuff here. There’s this . . . and this . . . and this . . .’
Daniel acted like all his Christmases had come at once. Hannah didn’t care if he didn’t sleep for the whole weekend, and she didn’t care if she never worked for the police again. What she was doing here was starting a new life by letting go of a previous one. If Tilly could see her now, she would be beaming from ear to ear – of that much she was certain.
‘I need to put these with my collection,’ Daniel said. ‘Do you want to see it? Do you want to see my collection? Mum, can Hannah come and see my collection?’
Gemma seemed unsure, but then she looked again into Hannah’s eyes, and what she saw there made her relent.
‘Just quickly, Daniel. It’s your bedtime soon.’
‘Oh, Mum, but it’s Friday night. I get to stay up later on a Friday.’
‘I said you can have a few minutes, Daniel.’
Daniel nodded. ‘Come on, Hannah. Follow me.’ He was beckoning as he walked out of the living room, but his eyes were already focused on one of his new comics.
Hannah started to follow, but Gemma touched her elbow.
‘Please, don’t talk to him about police work. It frightens him. It’s not like the comics.’
