I didn’t bother to knock on the door. As soon as I walked in, I realized that this really wasn’t my day–Joe was right. Lola d’Amour was far too young to be who I was looking for. But sitting next to her was a woman who was clearly her older sister–we’d found Renee Smith and that was all that mattered.

She had aged badly. Her collar-length black hair was in pigtails. I’m always suspicious of grown women who wear their hair in bunches. Her body was slim but her teeth were rotten and suggested to me she had a lifelong problem with bulimia. She cast her eyes over each shoulder. Like a cornered animal she was looking to run. Glasgow Joe stood up to his full height and blocked the doorway.

‘There’s nowhere to go, Renee,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not from the papers, I’m not going to harm you. I’m an Edinburgh lawyer.’ I paused before I said the next sentence. ‘I represent Kevin Milne.’ I took a card out of my pocket and handed it to Renee. She spat in my face. Glasgow Joe took a step forward; I pushed him back to the door. ‘I can take care of myself,’ I said, reaching forward for the box of tissues on the dressing-room shelf.

‘So? I’m guessing you don’t like Kevin Milne?’ I asked.

Renee turned her head away from me like a sullen teenager and started to swing her leg up and down. She wore ripped black fishnet tights, a crotch-gripping denim miniskirt and a white blouse tied underneath her bust to reveal her extensive tattoos. On her chest was a large red heart with black pins sticking out of it; one pin was larger than all the others–it was more of a nail really. I pointed to it. ‘Does that represent him?’ I asked.

‘No, you stupid bitch!’ she said, shaking her head with such fury it was almost like an epileptic fit. Her chin fell onto her chest, and then her index finger went up to the red heart and fingered the black nail. I could see it was a gesture she performed so often it was almost reflexive.

‘Who is it?’ asked Joe from the doorway. From her past, he assumed that she didn’t like lawyers and remembered her low intelligence from the file notes I’d summarized. Renee looked up. Surprise was in her eyes. We knew her story. Couldn’t we guess? ‘Is it for Matthew?’ he said. Renee nodded. ‘Kevin Milne ruined your life, didn’t he?’ Joe said, and his voice was tender for such a big man. Renee gasped for air and opened and shut her mouth like an angelfish.