Page 138 of Too Close To Home

It rang once.

Twice.

“Harry!” Nigella’s voice showered down the line. Warm, familiar, and a bit too much all at once. “You’ve called at the exact right time. I’m between clients. How’s it going? Did you get moved in alright? What’s the house like? New team behaving? Any gossip?”

He could picture her perfectly. Kettle boiled. Feet tucked under her. Settling in. Normal. Safe.

So he blurted, “I just kissed a witness.”

Silence.

He stared at the sky, jaw tightening.

“In the middle of an active missing persons investigation.”

Still nothing.

He closed his eyes. “Not the first time, either.”

Another beat.

Then, because apparently, he’d decided self-destruction was the order of the day—“He put his bloody hands on me.”

The silence deepened.

“But the cottage is fine,” Harrison rushed out, already retreating. “Bit of a leak in the roof, though that’s…temporarily dealt with. Apparently, it needs a full overhaul. I’ve no idea how to even begin arranging something like that, as those things were always Chris’s—” He stopped, recalibrated. “The team seem decent enough. Usual mix. A few inflated egos, but nothing unexpected. DCI appears sound. And the case itself is—”

“Harry?”

He stopped. “Yeah.”

“What the hell did you just say?”

Harrison pinched the bridge of his nose. “I was rather hoping we might… circle back to literally anything else.”

“Absolutely not.”

He exhaled slowly. “It was… a lapse in judgement.”

“A lapse in judgement?”

“Yes.”

“With a witness?”

“Yes. Though to a cold case. But, fuck, if we’re being completely fucking honest, he’s a person of interest on the live one.”

Nigella made a noise somewhere between disbelief and laughter. “You kissed a suspect?”

“Person of interest. There is a distinction.”

“Oh. My. God.”

He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Look, let’s not catastrophise this. I’m simply calling for you to confirm that this is some entirely predictable stage of the grieving process. Preferably one with a clearly defined duration.”

Nigella laughed properly then. “Oh, Harry…”

“And if you happen to know what comes next, I would very much appreciate a briefing. I find I function better when I know what I’m dealing with.”