Nightfall

MGB.

‘Now, Jack. He wants to see you now.’

‘I’m busy,’ said Nightingale.

‘He’ll want you to see the shrink, too,’ said Hoyle, hurrying after him. It was standard procedure after a death.

‘I don’t need to see the shrink,’ said Nightingale.

Hoyle put a hand on Nightingale’s shoulder. ‘It wasn’t your fault, Jack. It’s natural to feel guilty, to feel that you’ve failed.’

Nightingale glared at him. ‘Don’t try to empathise with me and don’t sympathise. I don’t need it, Robbie.’

‘And what do I tell Chalmers?’

‘Tell him whatever you want,’ said Nightingale, twisting out of Hoyle’s grip. He climbed into the MGB and drove off.