‘And what about Daniel? What if they ask him what he knows?’
21
Ben’s mouth dropped open. ‘What the . . .?’
Hannah shrugged. ‘You should see the one on the back of my head. Puts that one to shame.’
‘What the hell happened?’
She brushed past him as she entered the hallway. ‘I need a drink. Only I can’t have one because I’m pumped full of painkillers.’
‘You’re avoiding my question.’
She kept going. Into the living room, where she kicked off her shoes and sat down on the sofa. Ben followed her.
‘I was attacked,’ she said.
‘How’s the other guy? In a hospital bed, I hope.’
The comment surprised her. ‘I think you need to tear up your pacifist credentials. I didn’t see the other guy. Bastard whacked me with a stick from behind and then ran away.’
‘Where did this happen?’
‘Ground floor of a block of flats. We’d just split up to do a door-to-door.’
‘And nobody saw anything?’
‘One guy came to my rescue. By that time, I was already out of it.’
‘What do you mean, out of it?’
She hesitated. ‘I mean I’d lost consciousness.’
‘You’d lost—Jesus, Hannah. You need to see a doctor.’
‘I’ve seen a doctor. Marcel Lang insisted on it. I’ve just come back from A&E.’
‘You’ve just—Oh my God. Why am I only just hearing about this?’
‘Because I knew exactly how you’d react, and it’s what you’re doing now, fussing over me like a grandmother.’
‘I’m your husband. I’m allowed to fuss. What did they say?’
‘That I’ll live to fight another day. That I’ve still got a brain. Technical stuff like that.’
Ben leaned in and began ferreting around in her hair until she slapped him away.
He said, ‘Good job you’ve got such a thick head. Why the hell were you searching buildings anyway?’
‘In case you’d forgotten, I’m a detective. I investigate things and look for clues.’
‘You’re also an inspector and the lead on the case. You should be sitting in an office where it’s nice and safe, and sending your minions out to do the dirty work.’
‘Yeah, well, I don’t trust my minions.’
‘You don’t trust your own officers?’
‘Okay, that’s not entirely true. I do trust them. But I need to make sure this one is done right. There’s a lot riding on this case.’
‘Your control freakery isn’t worth getting killed for.’
‘I won’t get killed. The attack had nothing to do with the investigation. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
Ben frowned. ‘Any ideas who did it?’
‘Not sure. We had a slight run-in with some lads who hang around the building. Could have been one of them, but I’ve got no proof.’
‘Well, I hope you’ve got police swarming all over that place. You need to get the bastard who did this to you.’
‘It’s fine.’
‘It’s not fine at all. Assaulting a police officer is not something to be dismissed so lightly, especially when the officer concerned is my wife. I’d go looking for him myself if I wasn’t so opposed to confrontation and violence and getting my arse kicked.’
‘I don’t want to make a big thing of it.’
‘Why not? That bump on your head is a big thing. Massive, in fact.’
‘Stop making me out to be the Elephant Man. The reason I don’t want to make a fuss is because I want to spare my Good Samaritan.’
