Quintin Jardine - Wearing Purple

‘And yes, you too; even if I understand that you can only ever have one soulmate.’

We looked at each other for a long time. Nothing showed in my expression; I had nothing to show.

‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘I’ve been to see a nursing agency and there’s the possibility of a casualty job in the Royal. I was thinking I’d get myself a flat in Glasgow. I’ve had it with Edinburgh, like you.

‘What do you think? I mean, would it upset you in any way, to have me around, even if we’re only in the same city? Or would it be better if I just went back?’

I stared at her, and at the future. ‘You get yourself a flat,’ I told her. ‘There’s some nice stuff for rent down in the Merchant City.’ She looked at me, almost gratefully.

‘But you don’t really want to be a nurse again, do you?’ I said. ‘You told me when we met that you were finished with that career.’

‘That’s true, but it’s what I do. It’s what I’m trained for.’

I shook my head. ‘No, there’s something else you’ve done. Listen, I’ve agreed to carry on this GWA stuff for a while. If I do that, and I will, I’m going to need a partner in my main business.’

She stared at me, wide-eyed with surprise. ‘What, back to being Phillips and Blackstone?’

‘Stuff that for a game,’ I told her, straight away. ‘Blackstone and Phillips, and no nonsense.’

I could see her head about to nod. ‘I want you to think about this before you agree,’ I said. ‘We’re friends, and we work well together, but it’s a business arrangement. We work from an office, not here.

‘Outside that, I’ve got to get a life, and so have you. I’ll be back from Frankfurt on Sunday night. Call me then. Unless you’ve gone back to Spain, that is.’ I stood her up and marched her to the door.

‘You’ve changed indeed,’ she said. ‘I like the new bloke though; as much as the old. I’ll call you.’

I stood in the doorway and watched her until she reached the end of the corridor. She knew it, and waved to me as she turned the corner.

I went back inside and sat in my captain’s chair. I tried to look out of the window at the afternoon city, but my eyes grew heavy, and gradually my head fell back.

As it had done on the afternoon before, a vision of Jan formed itself in my mind. She was sitting in a field — one of our places, hers and mine, just outside Anstruther. She was wearing a purple dress, and she was smiling.