Free Lethal Intent by Quintin Jardine

want to attend.'
    'Did he say what it is?'
    'No; he just asked me to tell you the time, and make sure you got there.'
    She turned off the motorway and headed into, then through Govan. The traffic was building, but most of it was headed for the Clyde tunnel, so there were no hold-ups. They passed through street after street of sandstone tenements until, suddenly, the river came into sight and with it a tall development of newer apartments. She turned into the car park of the third block, and tucked the Stilo into a space marked 'Reserved. 4a'. Bob took his flight bag from the boot, followed her inside and into the lift.
    The flat was on the fourth floor; it was small, but the space was well planned. The living room had a corner window which looked across the Clyde, and eastwards, towards the city. Very nice,' said Bob, impressed.
    'I like it,' Aileen replied. 'I wish the parliament was in Glasgow, then I could live here all the time.'
    'You could do that if you wanted. The government cars would pick you up from here and bring you back. Like you said, it's a perk of the job.'
    'My days are too unpredictable.' She smiled. 'As for my nights, there's nothing to draw me back here.' She reached up and touched his face, feeling the stubble on his chin. 'You look tired. Do you want to go to bed for a couple of hours?'
    'Do you mean alone?' he asked her, with a quiet grin.
    'That, sir, is up to you,' she murmured, provocatively. 'I have things to tell you, and that might be as good a place as any.'
    He put his hands on her hips. 'Honest to God, Aileen, I couldn't do you justice. I'm just off the flight from hell, I've got a chin like a hedgehog, plus… to be honest, the time isn't right'
    She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. 'I know. But I thought I'd make the offer anyway, out of devilment, if nothing else.'
    'You don't feel snubbed that I've turned it down?'
    'No, honestly.' She smiled, shyly. 'I'll regard it as a rain-check. The truth is, I don't know how I'd have felt if you'd taken me up on it' She ran her palm over his beard. 'You're right about the stubble; heavy-gauge sandpaper at the very least.'
    He looked at her, his emotions churning, temptation gnawing at him, realising that he was approaching a pivotal moment in his life. He thought of his marriage, and asked himself, for the first time, whether he wanted to repair it, even if he could. 'I really would like to sleep for a bit, though,' he told her, to end the moment, as much as anything else.
    She led him through to her bedroom, showed him the en suite shower room. As soon as she had left him alone, he stripped off his clothes, slipped under the duvet, and was gone in sixty seconds.
    When he was awakened by a gentle touch on his shoulder, she was sitting on the edge of the bed; her blonde hair was perfectly arranged and she had changed from the casual clothes she had worn earlier into a dark business suit. She smiled down at him; for a second he was disorientated, then his eyes and his mind focused. 'Hi,' he mumbled, drowsily. 'What time is it?'
    'Five to twelve.' She picked up a mug of coffee from her bedside table. 'Yours is there,' she said, nodding over his shoulder.
    'Thanks.' He pulled himself up to sit beside her, picked up his mug from its coaster, and took a sip. 'Jesus, I needed that.'
    Aileen laughed. 'Which? Sleep or the coffee?'
    'Both.'
    'How did things go in Florida… or don't you want to talk about it?'
    'There's not a lot to talk about. Let's just say we reached some understanding of where we stand and what we really feel about each other. Before, there was anger on both sides, but I think we've worn that out. Sarah says she's going to do some thinking over the next few days. I suppose I'll do the same. I've got all sorts of worries in my head, but most of all the kids. What do you tell them at times like this?'
    'The truth, I suppose, if they're old enough to understand it.'
    'They're old enough to be hurt by it.'
    'So are you. It's in your eyes.' She