She ran her fingers across the bandages under her blouse.

‘Just don’t make me laugh,’ she said. ‘I’ll burst a stitch.’

‘Jesus.’ Liam was paler than she remembered, dark circles under his eyes. But then she wasn’t exactly radiant herself.

‘I owe you an apology,’ he said.

‘You don’t owe me anything.’

‘Actually, I owe you a lot more than an apology.’ He held her gaze for a moment then turned to look at the curtains. ‘You were right about everything.’

‘Wow, can I get that in writing? It could come in handy for my next argument with someone.’

He smiled and she remembered what he looked like talking about his paintings in the studio. We are our processes, not our results.

‘You opened my eyes,’ Liam said. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’

Jenny shrugged.

‘I’ve moved out and filed for divorce,’ he said. ‘I asked her about the gardener, she denied it but it was obvious. She’s actually a really bad liar when confronted.’

‘I suspect most of us are.’ Jenny thought about lies. ‘I’ll give you the rest of the photos I took, if that’ll help with the divorce.’

He looked at her as if it had never occurred to him. ‘That would be a help, yes. I’ll pay you for your time.’

Jenny waved her fingers, a small gesture. ‘No need.’

‘You’re trying to keep a business going, aren’t you?’

‘I suppose.’

‘Then I’ll pay you.’

Jenny stared at the plinth where the coffin would go for a viewing. Thought about the thousands of deceased who had passed through here on the way to the ground or the furnace. All those stories, all that life, snuffed out.

‘Anyway,’ Liam said, ‘it sounds like you have plenty of your own stuff to deal with.’

‘Yeah.’318

‘Was he really your ex-husband?’ He looked ashamed to have read about it.

Jenny felt a lump in her throat, tried to swallow. The pain in her stomach tugged at her.

‘I’m sorry,’ Liam said.

‘Don’t be.’ Jenny couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Liam took a deep breath and it made Jenny’s muscles ache to hear it.

‘What was it like?’ he said eventually. ‘When you were following me?’

Jenny hadn’t been expecting that question, had to think about it for a few moments. ‘I don’t know.’ She ran a finger along the plinth, hoping for a splinter to snag her skin. ‘I suppose it felt creepy, like I was doing something wrong. But it was also kind of thrilling, watching you and finding out about your life.’

‘I’m pretty boring.’

‘I wouldn’t say that. Anyway, boring is underrated, I wouldn’t mind some boring in my life right now.’

That got a small laugh out of him.