Just Keep Breathing, GS Rhodes [best book club books for discussion TXT] 📗

“I can—” The door swung open again, DI Kidd half-expected it to be DCI Weaver storming in again with new information or to give Simon the bollocking he had avoided earlier on. But instead, DC Campbell stood in the doorway, several cups of coffee in a carrier, a paper bag bursting with pastries.

His grin was wide like he had just found the girl out on the street, his fake tan still as orangey-brown as ever, making his teeth seem all the whiter. He wasn’t a bad guy, Kidd knew that. He just had a tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, or make light of a situation that really didn’t need to be made light of.

After the last case where he’d been battered by the guy who ended up being their murderer, he’d toned down some. But that only seemed to last as long as he had a bruise on his forehead. It had faded, and so had any sense of him being a decent human being.

“The cavalry has arrived!” DC Campbell proclaimed, handing coffee to DC Ravel, a mint tea to DC Powell—DI Kidd tried not to rip into him for it—and two more coffees to Kidd and Zoe. He took an almond croissant for good measure. He was bloody starving.

“What do you want me to do, boss?” Campbell asked, mock saluting and throwing a pain aux raisins across the room. “Oops.”

“First of all, I want you to pick that up,” DI Kidd said, suppressing an eye roll. “Then, I want you to get in touch with the parents, Laura and Chris Harper. I’d love to get an interview done today if possible. I can go to them. It’s probably easier. Have they sent a Missing Persons Officer?”

“They requested it,” DS Sanchez said. “Been run off their feet apparently.”

“Of course they did,” DI Kidd replied. He wouldn’t be surprised if a photo of them showed up on Laura’s Instagram page sooner rather than later, or a full review of how they were performing. “Okay, Campbell, if you could get on with that for me, that will be great.”

DI Kidd returned his gaze to the screen and Laura Harper’s social media. It was fascinating the number of people who were invested in her life, in how she cleaned her living room, in where her family were going on trips. When he clicked on Sarah’s profile, he saw that she had a lot of followers too, many of whom had probably come from her mother.

They were presenting themselves as this perfect family, the perfect house, the perfect life, everything so squeaky clean. But nothing was ever that cut and dry, DI Kidd knew that. They probably wanted Sarah found so quickly because it made things look bad. How can you be the perfect parents if you don’t even know where your child has gotten to?

DS Sanchez was still at his side. DI Kidd turned to her.

“What’s up, Zoe?” he asked.

“You were going to tell me something before DCI Weaver came in,” she said. “I’m not trying to push you or anything, but it seemed like it was going to be important.”

He looked at her for a moment, the image that might be of Craig flashing up in his mind again. Did he even want to tell her? She was his friend, but would she think less of him for still looking for Craig while starting things up with John? He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her. Maybe he was making something out of nothing, a mountain out of a molehill, a sighting out of a blurred CCTV still.

“No,” he said. “I was just going to tell you about the case, that’s all. DCI Weaver just beat me to it.” His focus needed to be on the case right now. He couldn’t get distracted by yet another wild goose chase looking for Craig Peyton. It hadn’t worked when he’d had his time off and went gallivanting across Europe, it certainly wasn’t going to work now. It would only really succeed in making him more miserable. He needed to accept that Craig was gone.

“Oh,” DS Sanchez replied. “Never mind then, I thought it was going to be something serious.” She moved to walk away.

“Oh, actually,” DI Kidd said after her. She turned around. “You want to come to this school reunion with me?”

She eyed him curiously. “Sure, I can if you want,” she replied. “I thought you were going to take John.”

“I was,” Kidd said. “But things have changed a little in the last hour. I wonder if it might be good for us both to be there. And if I go with John, I’m not going to be focussing on the case and…” he trailed off and took a moment. “You never know what’s going to come up. If Laura and Chris are going to be there, maybe something new will come to light.”

Zoe nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Sure. You don’t think John will mind?”

DI Kidd hesitated. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll understand.”

But he had that creeping feeling in his stomach that he was putting work before his personal life again, that thing he’d told himself that he needed to stop doing. But it wasn’t a big deal, was it? John would understand. It was a work thing. It would be fine.

As DI Kidd turned back to his computer, staring at the perfection of Laura Harper’s life. He wasn’t so sure.

CHAPTER SEVEN

With everyone on task, DI Kidd and DS Sanchez left Kingston Police Station to make their way to Sarah Harper’s school. It wasn’t lost on Kidd that it was the same school he had attended over twenty years ago. Although it had since been transformed into an Academy, he wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of going back.

“We could send someone else,” DS Sanchez said as they walked out into the car park. Zoe took a set of keys out of