‘Like hell you were.’ Mags chuckled, leading him upstairs to her office and gesturing towards a group of chairs which were arranged around a small table to one side of her desk.
‘So, what can I do for you, Ethan?’
‘I witnessed an attempted mugging last night.’
Mags nodded. ‘Yes, I pulled the file. Kate Foster. You dashed to the rescue.’
Ethan ignored the part about rescuing. He’d feel happier if everyone would stop saying that. ‘I’m a little concerned.’ Ethan frowned. He’d spent most of the morning telling himself that he shouldn’t be concerned about Kate.
‘On the record? Or off?’ Mags was giving him that look—the one that told Ethan she knew full well that there was something he wasn’t planning to say.
‘Off the record. I think that this isn’t the first time that Kate’s been attacked. She wouldn’t talk about it last night and she seemed very intent on telling everyone that she was all right. I’m not so sure she is, though.’
That should do it. Keep a professional distance, report what you know and leave it at that.
‘Right.’ Mags frowned. ‘I see from the notes that you insisted she be driven home last night.’
‘I thought that was sensible.’
‘Yes, it was. We would do that normally anyway, and I imagine you haven’t forgotten that. Is there anything we don’t know about the scope of the attack last night? Something you’re keeping quiet about?’
&nb
sp; ‘No, I’m just concerned for her.’ There it was again. Concern. Ethan knew that Mags was justifiably proud of the station’s record for supporting victims of crime. Kate had needed him last night, but this morning he should back off.
Mags leaned back in her chair, her brow furrowed in thought. ‘I’m going to say this as a friend...’
‘Sure.’ The signs were clear. He was in for a dose of Mags’s straight talking.
‘It’s not unusual for witnesses of a crime to feel very protective towards people they’ve seen attacked. It’s a perfectly natural reaction.’
‘I’m aware of that.’ Ethan’s words sounded sharper than he’d meant them to. Mags was only trying to help, and the truth was that he did feel protective towards Kate. Perhaps Mags was right, and it was all down to the sudden rush of emotion he’d felt when he’d heard her scream.
Mags leaned forward in her chair. ‘Look, Ethan. If someone I cared about was in the hospital, I’d be the first one sitting in your office, looking for a bit of...clarity. And you’d be telling me what I’m about to tell you.’
‘To butt out and let you do your job?’
Mags laughed. ‘I was thinking of putting it much more nicely than that. We’re expecting Ms Foster any minute now, and she’ll be seeing Laura, who’s one of our best officers. My suggestion is that you wait and see her afterwards.’
Mags’s perceptive gaze scanned his face for a moment, seeking out any clue that there was more to this than he’d told her already. Ethan was beginning to feel a little foolish.
‘Thanks, I appreciate it. And I’m sorry if I’m overreacting.’ He was overreacting. He’d seen senseless loss before and felt the tragedy of it. And somehow, when he’d least expected it, Kate’s predicament had pushed all the wrong buttons.
‘Nonsense. If everyone cared as much as you do, I’d be out of a job.’ Mags smiled, seeming to consider the matter closed. ‘Now, let’s see the latest photo of Sam. I know there’s one on your phone.’
And there were photos of Mags’s two daughters in her desk drawer which Ethan wanted to see too. He should stop worrying about Kate and come to terms with the fact that what he felt was just a result of the circumstances they’d found themselves in last night.
* * *
The VIPER system meant that witnesses were protected from any contact with the person they were being asked to identify, using computer images instead of a traditional identification parade. Ethan had listened carefully to the instructions, as if this were the first time he was hearing them, and was sure of his choice. The young police officer who had been through the process with him left him in the interview room to wait, bringing him a cup of tea and the morning paper.
He drank the tea and pretended to read the paper. After ten minutes, the door of the interview room opened and Kate appeared, Mags standing behind her in the doorway.
She just hadn’t been able to resist it. Mags had asked a couple of oblique questions about his love life over the photos of Sam, and Ethan had ignored the suggestion that it might be time to consider dating. Then she’d seen Kate, put two and two together and come up with five.
It was a perfectly reasonable mistake to make. If things had been different Ethan might well have asked Kate out for a coffee and seen where that led. But, if time had softened his grief over losing Jenna, it hadn’t softened the feeling that he’d let her down. Or the resolve that his first and only priority had to be Sam now.
‘They said you were waiting.’ Kate’s smile seemed brittle. And, even though the day was warm, she was wearing a thick sweater and jacket, as if to ward off some nameless chill. Ethan’s heart bumped in his chest. Maybe his worries hadn’t been so illogical after all.