Sophie dialled her daughter’s number and waited. Just as she’d decided that Andi wasn’t there, someone picked up the phone and a sleepy voice mumbled something.

‘Andi? Is that you?’

‘What? Oh, Mum. I was asleep. What’s wrong? You never ring in the mornings.’

It was no use asking on the phone; she had to see Andi’s face to know whether her daughter was lying or not. ‘Could you come round straight away, please? Something’s cropped up. Take a taxi. I’ll pay for it. You can have breakfast here.’

‘I’m not even up yet.’

‘Please hurry. I desperately need to talk to you.’ She set the phone back in its cradle and turned to Donna, explaining why she’d asked Andi to come round.

‘You think it’s her? Why would she do that if you asked her not to?’

‘She’s just lost her job and if that horrible man offered her money – well, she’d probably have taken it. She and I don’t – um, get on all that well.’

‘What about the other thing in the article?’

‘What other thing?’

‘This fellow you’re dating. Peter Shane. I thought – and Jez thought – that you were interested in him, that you weren’t the sort to string two men along at once.’

Scorn rang in her voice and that made Sophie cringe. ‘That’s between me and Jez. All I’ll say is that it was one date, which had been arranged for a while, and there is nothing between me and Peter Shane.’

‘You didn’t return Jez’s calls.’

‘Do you always help him with his relationships?’

Donna flushed and looked embarrassed. ‘No. And he doesn’t know I’m asking about this. It’s just that I care about him. He’s been through a lot lately. We thought he was getting better and now today he’s depressed again.’

Sophie calmed down. ‘It’s good that his employees are so loyal. Look, I’m still trying to sort out how I feel about him.’ She hesitated, than added, ‘As a woman, surely you understand that I don’t want to set myself up to be hurt. So as I had a date already with Peter, I went on it. I wanted to see how it was with another attractive man and …’ She sighed.

‘And how was it?’

‘Not the same. I like Peter and I think we’ll become friends, but you know how it is sometimes: a man can seem everything you need, but the magic just isn’t there.’

Donna’s expression softened just a little. ‘Yes, I know.’

‘That’s all I’m going to say about me and Jez. Now, you might as well have a coffee while we wait for Andi.’

Half an hour later the buzzer rang and Sophie let her daughter in. Andi looked half-asleep still – or could it be the residue of something she’d been taking?

‘Is that coffee I smell, Mum?’

‘I’ll get you some.’ She led the way into the kitchen. Donna was no longer there, nor was her mug, so Sophie didn’t say anything about her other visitor.