Nightmare

13

Jenny was already at her desk when Nightingale arrived. He held out a brown paper bag. ‘Croissants and banana chocolate-chip muffins,’ he said. ‘The breakfast of champions.’

Jenny’s eyes narrowed as she looked up from her computer monitor. ‘What do you want?’

‘You’re so suspicious,’ he said, putting the bag down on her desk. ‘What makes you think I want anything?’ He nodded over at the coffee-maker. ‘Want a coffee?’

‘Now my spidey-sense is definitely tingling, but I’ve never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so yes, please. Milky with one sugar.’

Nightingale busied himself at the coffee-maker. ‘Did you drive in today?’ he asked.

Jenny sighed. ‘Your car’s stopped working again, hasn’t it?’

‘Battery’s dead,’ said Nightingale. ‘Must be a short somewhere.’

‘And you want a lift?’

‘Your Audi is a lovely car,’ said Nightingale, stirring in a spoonful of sugar. ‘If I didn’t like classic cars so much I’d probably go for an A4 myself.’

‘There’s a world of difference between a classic car and an old banger,’ said Jenny, opening the brown paper bag. She smiled as she took out a muffin. ‘These are my favourites,’ she said.

‘I know that,’ said Nightingale, taking two coffees over to her desk. He gave her one of the mugs and sipped from the other.

‘Where do you need to go, Jack?’

‘Gosling Manor. I promised to meet a building guy. He’s going to give me an estimate for the repairs.’

‘How much damage did the fire do?’

‘The upstairs hall is gutted but the fire brigade were there before the structure was damaged.’

‘It was insured, wasn’t it? I mean, it was arson so it wasn’t as if it was your fault or anything.’

‘I haven’t checked. I hope so.’

‘Jack! Are you serious? How can you not have checked already?’

‘I’ve had a lot on my plate. Anyway, there’s a huge mortgage on the place and they usually come with insurance.’

‘You should check, and soon.’

‘To be honest, I’m more worried about water damage. The firemen used a hell of a lot of water and I haven’t looked down in the basement yet. Water and books aren’t a good mix.’

‘When do you want to go?’

Nightingale looked at his watch. ‘You’ve got time for your breakfast and I’ve got time for a fag and a quick read of the Sun.’ He grinned. ‘Now that is the breakfast of champions.’