She retreated to the café on the street, got a black coffee, poured in three sugars and waited. She thought about Melanie. Was it Longhorn? Or this Bradley tutor guy, or the boyfriend? Dick pics, naked pictures and God knows what else. So she had a boyfriend and was seeing her lecturer, if either of them found out about the other that might mean something. The tutor was less likely, but maybe he was jealous of others getting a piece of her.191

An hour later Liam came out of the vennel and walked along the road. Déjà vu. Jenny gulped down her third coffee and followed at a distance, her trainers scuffing the gutter. She followed him to The King’s Wark. This time she walked round to the other entrance on The Shore and went in. And there he was at the bar, smiling, chatting to the same barmaid, sipping his pint, looking at the crossword. Maybe Jenny would follow him forever, paid by Orla, end up having a symbiotic relationship with them, going wherever Liam went, taking money from Orla, reliant on their affluence and secrets for her livelihood.

A woman from a corner table got up and went to the bar next to Liam. She was dressed in a short skirt and skimpy top, like she was out on the pull along Lothian Road on a Friday night. Nobody went out on the pull in The King’s Wark on a Wednesday. Maybe she was meeting friends and heading to town later, but still. She was tall and slim, black hair in silky waves, a perfect arse in that black skirt, damn it, tanned legs that ended on big heels as she placed her tiny handbag on the bar and ordered from the cocktail menu.

She turned and smiled at Liam, and he smiled back. Jenny shrank into her dark corner and widened her eyes. The bombshell started a conversation and Liam joined in, Christ, what man in the world wouldn’t. She was mid-twenties, not a baby but far too young for him. The body language said they didn’t know each other, but Jenny was no expert and maybe that was part of what was going on.

The woman touched her hair then tucked it behind her ear, and Liam straightened his posture in response, paying attention. She wore a lot of lip gloss, eyelash extensions fluttering. Jenny couldn’t work out whether she was genuinely interested in him or just liked attention.