Sleep Tight

Even those we’ve loved all our lives are highly unlikely to be perfect.

what that meant. He could spend the night

One of the women was a natural bitch – all women recognise them, but men rarely do.

I’d begun to feel as if there was a creeping deadness inside me, encroaching on the calm and replacing it with a black void, a vacuum where emotion should be. And the deadness was growing and penetrating every corner of my soul, reaching out its dark tentacles to smother all natural reactions.

at the guest house in Anglesey,’ Tom stated.

But nobody was there; nobody was even looking.

The girl was smiling as she left the noisy, packed pub, and shouts of laughter were ringing in her ears as she wrestled the heavy door open, letting in an icy blast of cold air. She

her way and a few arms were raised in a farewell salute, but most were otherwise occupied with pint glasses, or were gesticulating wildly to emphasise

The dark night settled around her and the sudden silence hit her like a physical blow. For a moment she stood still.

But now I realise that I’ve settled for mediocrity. How had I let it happen? How did I lose myself?

If a man tries to steal your wife, the best form of revenge is to let him have her.

of sorrow and distress, or something else

The waiting – the uncertainty and the frustration of being unable to do anything – is unbearable.

It’s been hard to maintain the outward image of the old me for Robert’s sake while simultaneously

single moment – the scuffing of a shoe,

Have you ever looked obsession in the face, Chief Inspector? Strip away the mask of normality, and it’s a hideous, contorted serpent that lurks beneath the skin, writhing with frustration until the object of its desire is under its control.

off to fling over the back of a chair, and made his

I should have known what might happen. I should have understood better what Robert had been telling me in everything but words. It’s now three hours since he left with my babies, and every bone and muscle in my body is aching with their loss.

For a moment, I can’t speak so

or perhaps because of, her natural aloofness and her ability to withdraw and view things without emotion. The fact that this extended to her own life, leaving her appearing cold and distant, was beside the point.

People do all sorts of daft things for no reason that anybody else can understand...