Ranald Hughes coughed, nodded in my direction, turned on his heels and left for the judge’s chamber–well out of the way of any trouble. I, on the other hand, had to push through the melee of Boyles and journalists. As Kenny Cameron’s friends and supporters made cautious moves towards us, I put my hand out to him. He shook it. He looked and probably felt like a sick fish. His mob was no match for the Boyles. ‘I hope you can put this behind you, Kenny.’ I held his eyes. ‘Get on with your life. Everyone deserves a fresh start.’ Through gaps in the crowd I could see Senga Cameron’s mother, Ma Boyle, point in the direction of me and Kenny and draw her finger across her neck. She was a sly cow; no one else saw it. Nodding in my direction, she allowed the policeman to escort her out of court. Now that the verdict was in, and the trial was over, the lawyers were redundant. Ranald Hughes and the prosecution team came back into the empty court to collect their papers. He shrugged his shoulders in sympathy. ‘A Pyrrhic victory I fear, Miss McLennan.’ I smiled. I had a reputation to maintain, as did all lawyers–society would surely crumble if I’d fallen at his feet and started crying, telling him that he was right; but we both knew that he was.

I wouldn’t get out of this without paying a price of some sort.

Chapter Two

She loved how he looked when they were having sex. Staring at him, with his arm muscles supporting his full weight, she couldn’t care less about whether or not she was getting what she wanted or needed. Instead she wondered how they looked together–what other people would think of them if they could see them at this moment.