“It’s not going to get any better, trust me on that,” Lindsay said. The waiter placed a sweating glass in front of Helen. “I couldn’t believe it when you suggested meeting here. I’d no idea it was still going. I imagined it would have turned into some terrible pizza parlor. I felt really dislocated when you said the name—this was one of the places I always came with Cordelia. It was our private secret. Like we thought we were the only people who knew about it. We never had dinner with anybody else here. So I didn’t expect you to know about it. Illogical, I know, but . . .”

Helen snorted. “You think I could work five minutes’ walk away and not know about the best Italian restaurant in north London? Do me a favor! You ready to order? I need the prospect of something solid in me before I can bear to hear any more bad news.”

While they waited for their meal, Lindsay outlined her afternoon discoveries to Helen, who looked more and more glum with every passing sentence. Even the arrival of a lasagne that looked rich enough to have its own Swiss bank account couldn’t relieve her gloom. As Lindsay virtuously wolfed her tuna and bean salad, Helen said disconsolately, “It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, isn’t it? We’ve found the skeleton in Stella’s cupboard, but if I expose her I’m bound to bring Watergaw’s reputation down with her.” She banged the end of her fork angrily on the table, attracting glances from the handful of other diners. “I can’t bear it,” she raged. “We built this company up from nothing, we’ve started to get a really good name in the business for delivering what we promise, and now this bitch is using us to make scummy little porno films. How dare she? It’s so outrageous that if it had come from anybody except you, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it. It’s not just that she’s exploiting the knickers off me and the company, it’s the fact that she’s involved in the skin trade. It goes diametrically against everything Watergaw is supposed to stand for.” Her eyes sparkled with anger. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance that her nasty little racket doesn’t involve the company?” she asked, faint hope in her voice.

Lindsay stretched out her free arm and squeezed Helen’s hand. “It’s always a possibility, but I wouldn’t hold out too much hope. But I thought the best thing to do was to get as clear a picture of what’s gone on as we possibly can. That’s why I suggested we got together tonight, so we can map out a plan of campaign.”

“You’ve got an idea?” Helen said eagerly.