The Backs (2013) (39 page)

‘Marks told me I had to,’ he teased.

‘And you always do what he tells you, eh? You know he’s leaving?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘Are you going to sit down or what, Gary?’

‘We could go out for coffee?’

She glanced towards the window, then shook her head. ‘No, there’s too much Christmas out there.’

‘Not in the mood?’

She screwed up her nose. ‘Not really.’

He pulled Kelly’s old chair over closer to her. ‘So, what’s the latest?’

‘Specifically? Do you mean Jane Osborne?’

‘I wondered.’

‘She’s staying on in Cambridge. Decorating that house.’

‘Really? I thought they’d sell it, demolish it even.’

‘No, she said she’d not letting
“some fucking house”
get the better of her.’

‘She’s mellowed then?’

‘As if.’

‘And Andie?’

Sue sagged back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling for several seconds before she sat up straight again, fighting her annoyance at him. ‘She’s OK but, you know what, I don’t even want to tell you that much.’ She leant forward and squeezed his arm. ‘You can’t keep doing this, Gary. When it’s over, it’s over.’

He understood. And knew she was correct.

He didn’t have the words to explain why he couldn’t totally let go of some of the cases he worked on. Perhaps because he didn’t know the answer himself. He stared down at her hand gripping his arm.

‘I miss her,’ she whispered. ‘And I can’t say that to anyone else. I know why you might want to leave, Gary. But please come back.’

A picture may paint a thousand words but the power of music is equally potent. These are the songs I played and used as inspiration as I wrote
The Backs.
I have spent many hours with this playlist now and these songs will, to me at least, always be the soundtrack to this book. I hope you enjoy them.

‘Atlantis’ – The Shadows

‘Black Cat’s Bone’ – Hot Boogie Chillun

‘Breakaway’ – The Detroit Cobras

‘Come With Me’ – Jacen Bruce

‘F***ing Sweet’ – Hot Boogie Chillun

‘Go Home’ – Eliza Doolittle

‘I Heard Those Voices Again’ – Big Boy Bloater

‘Insanely Happy’ – Big Boy Bloater

‘King of Love’ – Dave Edmunds

‘Little Star’ – The Elegants

‘Queen of Hearts’ – Dave Edmunds

‘So High’ – Eliza Doolittle

For more information please visit
www.alisonbruce.com
.