‘Have you seen the way animals are treated in this country? The hormones the cattle and pigs are injected with, the terrible cruel transportation, the –’

Crepey-Lips slammed my bacon roll and Joseph’s mug down with such gusto that tea sloshed onto the Formica top. ‘One brown tea. With white milk in it.’

I smiled at her politely.

‘White sugar, brown and red sauce are on the side.’

Joseph rattled on oblivious. ‘The immoral pens, the fat on the animals that shouldn’t be there. I mean, bacon’s a prime example. They’re given such high-energy food that they swell to twice their size.’

I looked down at my roll miserably, and had a slug of coffee instead. ‘It’s an admirable idea, Joseph, but can you actually see Renee going for it? It’s not really her style.’

‘I don’t see why not.’

‘Why don’t you make a list of your ideas for me?’ I put my mug down carefully. ‘But look, what we really need to do is talk about your future at Double-decker.’ I tapped my fingers against the china. ‘I mean, it’s not really working out, is it?’

He paled visibly. ‘Don’t sack me, Maggie, please.’

My heart went out to him. He really was pathetic. ‘I don’t want to sack you, Joseph, really I don’t – but I am worried. There’s been a few allegations against you now.’

‘What kind of allegations?’

‘Have you been – borrowing stuff? Like the girls’ address books?’

‘No.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’ He wouldn’t look at me.

‘Is that the truth?’

‘Yes, seriously.’ He looked up at me defiantly. ‘Why would I steal phone numbers?’

‘I don’t know. You tell me.’

‘I can’t, because I didn’t.’ But he was screwing a twist of sugar very tight. There was a pause. ‘You should be nice to me.’ It sounded rather like a threat.

‘Should I? Why?’

‘You know why.’

‘Remind me.’

‘Because my uncle will be furious if you don’t treat me correctly,’ he declared. It was a threat.

‘Your uncle?’

‘That’s right, my uncle.’

‘And he is…?’

‘Philip Lyons. But you knew that.’

I thought of Lyons, Double-decker’s MD; of his unprepossessing ways, his lack of social skills, his love of a fast dollar, the utter moral vacuum that he was. I remembered Charlie’s reticence to let Joseph go. It all fitted suddenly.

‘Oh, I see.’ I caught Joseph’s rather protuberant eye. Steadily we regarded one another. ‘I suppose there is a family resemblance, now you mention it.’

‘Had you forgotten, Maggie? Just like you’ve forgotten everything else.’

‘What everything else?’ I frowned.

‘If you can’t remember it’s not my place to remind you.’ He stared me out. ‘Can I go now?’

‘Joseph, just because you’ve got relatives in high places, it doesn’t mean you can just do whatever you fancy. It doesn’t work like that.’