‘Yes. She told me later that she’d found a lump in her breast and was frightened she might have to have a mastectomy. She wanted her husband to have pictures of her in case. The lump turned out to be benign in the end, but at the time she was frightened. Anyway, after I’d had them processed I gave her the negatives. It was very sensitive material and I knew her husband would be worried about them getting into the wrong hands.’

‘But she wasn’t?’

Thea shook her head. ‘She’s very young and she was so worried about the cancer that I don’t think she gave the negatives a thought. She hadn’t told anyone but me and the doctor about the lump.’

‘Poor child!’

‘Exactly.’

‘So how did the image get on your laptop if you were so careful?’

‘Not careful enough. She liked the colour shots, but she also wanted one in black and white. She thought I’d have to come and take another, but I told her I could take the colour out on the computer, tone it up a bit and she could say what she thought. When the job was done I deleted it, but forgot about the recycle bin.’ She sighed. ‘I suppose you could say I was careless, but quite honestly, it never occurred to me that anyone would look in my recycle bin.’ She made a face. ‘Unlike my clients, I’m not used to people grubbing about in my dustbins, even my virtual ones.’

‘So were they furious with you when you told them?’

‘Initially, because the husband thought I might be trying to blackmail them, but the wife, who’d had her all clear by then, convinced him that was the last thing I’d do. I was extremely upset and she knew I wanted to give up photography. Anyway, to cut a long and dirty story short, they gave me some money, out of gratitude.’ She smiled. ‘No, I’m not going to tell you how much. But after I’d sold my flat in town and paid off the mortgage, it was enough to buy my house and set myself up as a landlady.’

‘That was decent of them, though I expect they could afford it.’