‘Dad didn’t want another child so Mum brought Logan up single-handedly. Dad isn’t around anymore. He was killed by a drunk driver three years ago.’ She paused and took a deep breath.

‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

‘It’s been tough. He was a difficult man, but he was still my dad and… well, that’s a different story and not relevant here. Let’s get back to Mum, eh?’

I nodded, feeling empathy towards someone who’d also suffered loss. I knew all about the guilt that went with it.

‘She’s got her own shop selling collectible teddy bears. It’s called Bear With Me and it’s fantastic. She makes bears and runs workshops for anyone interested in learning how to make them, or for people who just want to learn how to sew. She values bears for a couple of auction houses so she travels a lot and Logan stays with my best friend’s mum.’ She paused. ‘Too much detail?’

‘No. It’s all good. It gives me a picture of her lifestyle which sounds pretty hectic.’

‘You could say that!’

‘Tell me about her health. Any problems before the diagnosis?’

Jemma shook her head. ‘Nothing significant. She’s never regularly exercised because her work hasn’t allowed her to get into a routine, but she’s pretty fit. She’s on her feet all day and up and down two flights of stairs loads of times. She’s slim and she has a good diet.’

‘And what about the diagnosis?’

I listened, scribbling the occasional note, while Jemma told me all about her mum’s rigidity, the frequency of what she called ‘bad days’ and how it was affecting her everyday life.

‘It’s not the Parkinson’s I’m worried about, though.’ She twiddled with a spare beer mat. ‘That’s a lie. I am worried about the Parkinson’s. Of course I am. It’s just that I’m worried that there’s something else and Mum’s consultant is being an awkward twat. He says I’m not his patient so he won’t take my calls. My question is this: does Parkinson’s cause memory loss?’

I put my pen down. ‘Not directly. Parkinson’s is a neurological condition so it does affect the brain, but it’s the part of the brain that controls movement, not the part that deals with memory. That’s why patients experience slowness, rigidity, tremors and so on. These are all about movement. However, it’s possible to have another condition alongside Parkinson’s which does affect memory, like de—’

‘Don’t say it,’ she cried, grabbing my forearm across the table and squeezing hard. She released her grip and shook her head. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to dig my nails in.’