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‘I’ll take the first shift and cover him until ten,’ Kim said. She’d already sent a text message to Charlie asking him to take Barney back a bit later and to give him his tea.
‘Bryant, get some rest and take me off at ten until two.’
‘Got it, guv.’
‘Penn, you relieve Bryant at two and pick up Stace en route. You can take it in turns to nap before coming in for the 7a.m. briefing.’
Stacey’s face lit up as Kim had known it would.
Kim looked around the room. ‘What are you all still doing here?’
They scrambled to get their stuff together to fit in some rest before their shift.
Stacey paused. ‘Boss, thanks for—’
‘And you text me the minute you see anything suspicious, got it?’ Kim asked before heading back into the Bowl.
SEVENTY-FIVE
Being given an early release from work to fit in some rest before the stakeout couldn’t have come at a better moment for Stacey. It had given her time to hatch a plan that had nothing at all to do with resting.
And that was why she found herself sitting on a bench at Sedgley Hall Farm park at sixo’clock in the evening.
Devon tried to jog at least three times a week to clear her head and this was her favourite spot, with its hilly contours and views across the Shropshire countryside. The place was alive with families and couples enjoying the evening sunshine.
Right on cue, Devon appeared in the distance, her short, dyed-blonde hair a beacon above her navy shorts and tee shirt. Stacey knew her earbuds would be blaring rock music into her ears as she moved.
Devon spied her and instantly stopped running. She slowed to a walk, her face a picture of mixed emotions: surprise, anger, sadness, regret.
Stacey was filled with a surge of love. She’d never valued anything more in her life than this woman who’d managed to reach every part of her. She wasn’t going to let their marriage get away from her. While there was breath in her body, she would fight for what they had built.
‘What are you doing here?’ Devon asked, stopping in front of her and removing the buds from her ears.
‘We need to talk, Dee.’
‘What’s left to say? I don’t even recognise us any more,’ Devon said.
‘We knew each other less than a week ago. We can’t have destroyed what we had in that time. We just can’t.’
Devon frowned as she took in Stacey’s appearance. ‘Are you wearing running gear?’
Stacey nodded.
‘You hate this type of exercise.’
‘I’ll chase you around the park all night if I have to. I’m not leaving your side until you’ve listened to what I have to say.’
Devon wavered but still didn’t sit.
Stacey reached into her back pocket. ‘See this? Superglue. Strongest and most durable type of glue on the market. Either listen to me or so help me God I’ll stick myself to you until they have to surgically separate us.’
‘Okay, okay,’ Devon said, taking a seat beside her.
A small smile had played on her face at the sight of the glue, which was what Stacey had intended. The real glue would come in what she was about to say. Without the whole truth, she knew her marriage was over.
‘We don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the ways in which I’ve been stupid recently,’ she said, just allowing the truth to fall from her lips. ‘I’ve let down everyone around me in not trusting them to help me. I’ve avoided, I’ve lied, I’ve ignored, I’ve deceived, but most importantly I accused you of doing something so out of character that it’s caused you to doubt whether we even know each other at all.’
Devon turned the earbuds in her hand, staring down at them with great concentration. Stacey could feel the sadness, the hopelessness, emanating from her. No, she wasn’t too late. She couldn’t be.
