‘I’m feeling better than I did last week too,’ he admitted. ‘I needed to take positive action, and speaking to you has been top of my list for a long while. It feels good to have ticked it off.’

‘I’m sorry it took so long,’ she said, bowing her head and making a silent apology to her absent friend for not doing better.

When she looked up, Joe was scrutinising the diagram on the table. So far she had written down the names of all the victims, including Angela Morris and Lena Kowalski. Joe slid a hand across the paper until his fingertip touched another name scrawled in red across two seats. Lois. ‘Is this your way of coping?’

‘I suppose it is,’ Leanne replied. ‘But it’s not about Lois.’

‘Then who?’

‘What did I tell you about Claudia Rothwell the other night?’ asked Leanne. She hadn’t been so drunk that she didn’t remember their last conversation, but it was hazy around the edges.

‘Not much more than I’ve read in the paper. And the fact she has a penchant for corporate merchandise,’ he said with a smile.

‘I saw Amelia the other day, and I think she recognised the Ronson Construction logo. It should all fit. Claudia was involved with the project, so she might have had one, but I can’t see why she would hang on to a crappy key ring when she’s become accustomed to the finer things.’

‘She wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth though, was she?’ Joe remarked. ‘She went to Sedgefield High like the rest of us.’

Leanne’s jaw dropped. ‘Did you know her?’

‘Not really, she was a year above me. It was one of my mates who recognised her. I don’t think I would have made the connection otherwise.’

Leanne recalled the brief conversation she had had with another of Claudia’s school friends. At the time, she had thought Kim was the one with the issues, but maybe it was the other way around. ‘Can you do me a favour? Ask around and see if there’s a story to tell.’

‘Like?’

‘I don’t know. Let’s just say I have some misgivings about what I’ve written.’ She picked up her phone. She would let Joe decide for himself. ‘Here, take a look at this and tell me what you see.’

While Joe watched Frankie’s video, Dianne appeared with a second coffee for the new arrival. Her eyes were glassy as she gave Leanne a wink before leaving.

‘Well?’ Leanne asked after Joe returned her phone.

He picked up his drink and held it an inch from his mouth. Steam billowed in front of his face. ‘She didn’t know about the torch, did she?’

‘It could have been the trauma. Selective memory,’ suggested Leanne, playing devil’s advocate.