The team suddenly turned to him, shock across their faces.
‘Since when?’ Rachel asked.
‘The other day. Things got a bit too… transactional, shall we say.’
Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Say no more.’
‘I wanted to apologise for it though,’ Martin continued, though nobody was giving him any attention. ‘She asked me for information, and…’
‘I know,’ Tomek replied.
‘You know? How?’
‘Because it’s one of the reasons that Victoria stepped back in as inspector.’
‘Fuck.’ The man’s expression turned vacant, and he stared into middle space. ‘My bad.’
‘It’s fine. I’m all right with it, in all honesty. A moment of epiphany, if you will.’ He took another quick sip of his drink, surprised to see how little he had left already. ‘But I’d stay away from Abigail, if I were you. She wants you for one thing and one thing only.’
‘His annoyingly beautiful long hair that’s better than any woman’s I’ve ever seen?’ Rachel joked. ‘No offence, Anna.’
‘None taken. I’d shave it all off and give it to myself if I could.’
‘Funny you should say that,’ Martin began, clearing his throat. ‘Because the girl I’ve been seeing wants me to shave it.’
‘What!?’ came the resounding echo from the entire table.
‘Why does she want to do that?’ Chey asked.
But before Martin could reply, Rachel stepped in and said, ‘Whoa, hold up, hold up. There are a couple of points we need to discuss. Firstly: girlfriend? Since when?’
‘No. Not girlfriend. Girl I’m seeing.’
‘Cut the shit. It’s the same thing. How long’s this been going on, and why haven’t you told us?’
‘Because… I guess I just haven’t thought to.’
Tomek thought he knew why. Martin was one of the newest additions to the team, having joined at the same time as Victoria, and a part of him had felt left out, slightly ostracised by the team as he’d struggled to wriggle himself through a crack in an already close-knit team. It was only natural that he hadn’t felt comfortable enough to share intimate details of his personal life with them yet.
‘You have to tell us,’ Rachel continued. ‘We have a right to know. We’re a work family.’
For the first time in a long time, Tomek saw a smile on the man’s face.
‘Tell us everything,’ Anna insisted.
‘Her name’s Lauren. She works in digital marketing, lives in Leigh-on-Sea, and we met… we met online.’
‘Lovely,’ Rachel said as she leant across the table and stroked his arm lovingly. ‘I’m pleased for you. Do you like her?’
Martin turned shy, like a schoolboy. ‘I think so.’
‘Have you met the family?’
‘Yeah.’
A chorus of “oohs”, highly emphasised and over the top came from the entire table.
‘Must be serious,’ Chey said.
‘Yeah, but her dad’s an arsehole.’
‘That’s because dads are arseholes,’ Tomek said. ‘I’m the same with Kasia. Overprotective. And it’s my job to embarrass her and everyone else that comes into her life.’
Thoughts of Roy Whitaker flashed into his mind.
‘Thanks for the advice,’ Martin said.
‘Speaking of advice,’ Rachel started, ‘what’s this with the hair thing? Why does she want you to cut it?’
Martin looked at the table and began drawing a circle with his finger on a beer mat, his ponytail serendipitously falling over his left shoulder. ‘She just doesn’t like it. Says it’s too long. Was only fashionable in the seventies. Thinks I should shave it all and send it to charity.’
The deflation in Rachel’s shoulders was visible. She placed both hands on Martin’s and looked him in the eye.
‘Do you know what I say to that?’
‘What?’
‘It pains me to say it, but I think you should know. That’s what families do. They tell us when things are going well and when things are going bad. But fuck that bitch. Nobody should make you feel less about yourself. If she doesn’t like it, then she can find the door. You need someone who wants you for you. And not just someone who’s going to mould you in their own image. Nuh uh.’
