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Chapters (86)
  1. Title Page
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Love
  4. Before
  5. One
  6. ONE
  7. Two
  8. TWO
  9. Three
  10. THREE
  11. Four
  12. FOUR
  13. Five
  14. FIVE
  15. Six
  16. SIX
  17. Seven
  18. SEVEN
  19. Eight
  20. EIGHT
  21. Nine
  22. NINE
  23. Ten
  24. TEN
  25. Eleven
  26. ELEVEN
  27. After
  28. One
  29. ONE
  30. Two
  31. TWO
  32. Three
  33. THREE
  34. Four
  35. FOUR
  36. Five
  37. FIVE
  38. Six
  39. SIX
  40. Seven
  41. SEVEN
  42. Eight
  43. EIGHT
  44. Nine
  45. NINE
  46. Ten
  47. TEN
  48. Eleven
  49. ELEVEN
  50. Twelve
  51. TWELVE
  52. Thirteen
  53. THIRTEEN
  54. Fourteen
  55. FOURTEEN
  56. Fifteen
  57. FIFTEEN
  58. Sixteen
  59. SIXTEEN
  60. Seventeen
  61. SEVENTEEN
  62. Eighteen
  63. EIGHTEEN
  64. Nineteen
  65. NINETEEN
  66. Twenty
  67. TWENTY
  68. Twenty-One
  69. TWENTY-ONE
  70. Twenty-Two
  71. TWENTY-TWO
  72. Twenty-Three
  73. TWENTY-THREE
  74. Twenty-Four
  75. TWENTY-FOUR
  76. Twenty-Five
  77. TWENTY-FIVE
  78. Twenty-Six
  79. TWENTY-SIX
  80. Twenty-Seven
  81. TWENTY-SEVEN
  82. Twenty-Eight
  83. TWENTY-EIGHT
  84. Eleven Months Later
  85. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  86. Copyright

‘Of course. It’s Esen,’ I say, throwing myself into one of the armchairs.

I recount the story of Alfie Fuller doing a runner with great glee, which is enough to make Deborah smile wide enough to reveal a gap between her front teeth I didn’t know was there.

‘Only Esen,’ she says under her breath, shaking her head.

She resumes dusting the books so Dev indulges me in idle chatter about her birthday party, which, after everything that has happened with Poppy, I’d forgotten was tonight. After about ten minutes, I decide that I’ve done enough to convince Deborah that everything’s OK so I can leave.

Before I do, I glance at the framed print on the wall by the door. I must have passed it dozens of times, never really looking at it and assuming it was just an abstract painting of a black circle on a cream background, but as I stop in front of it, I see that in the centre of the circle there’s a series of dots and lines with a title over it.

‘Carte Céleste,’ I read aloud, unsure I’ve pronounced it right.

I must have, because Deborah doesn’t correct me and merely says, ‘Heavenly card’. When I turn on my heel to face her, she’s watching me over her glasses from behind the sofa. ‘It’s a map of the stars.’

I look back at the print, following each line to the dot it meets then up another line and another, trying to find a pattern. But there doesn’t seem to be one, some of the lines longer than others, making each shape slightly different. The squares aren’t completely square and each of the triangles is a different size. Some of the shapes I couldn’t even name, but I’m sure Rosh could, I think, as I stare at it.

‘Ash,’ Deborah says when I get to the door, and I brace myself as I turn to her with what I hope is an easy smile. ‘I know it’s Dev’s party tonight, but make sure you listen out for your phone, OK?’

I nod and she nods back, disappearing between the stacks again.

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Poppy’s still in Bird & Blend, sipping tea while Esen lingers by the doorway, clearly bored.

‘All good?’ Esen asks when she sees me.

‘I don’t think Deborah suspects anything.’ I cross my fingers and hold them up. ‘Is Poppy OK?’

‘Yeah. Her mum called.’

‘She did?’ I say, suddenly buoyed by that. ‘When?’

‘Just now. While Poppy was trying to persuade me to try something called Rockabye Raspberry.’ She stops to glare at the woman approaching with a jug of what looks like pot pourri stewing in water. She takes the hint and veers the other way. ‘I didn’t want to intrude so I don’t know what was said, but she seems much happier.’