Because it was all going so well, I had promised myself a welldeserved and much-needed early night after I had followed Jack “Billy” Smart, my number one suspect, back to his Gothic three-story house in a quiet, tree-lined suburban street that evening at six. He’d walked in with a couple of bottles of Moët and an armful of videos from the shop round the corner, and I figured he was all set for a kiss and a cuddle in front of the television with his girlfriend. Come to that, I could have kissed him myself. Now I could go home, have a quick shower, send a cab out for a takeaway from nearby Chinatown and watch the soaps. Then I’d have a face pack and luxuriate in a long, slow bath and beauty routine. It’s not that I’m obsessive about personal hygiene, by the way, just that I’ve always felt that showers are for getting rid of the dirt, while baths are for serious pleasures like reading the adventure game reviews in computer magazines and fantasizing about the computer I’ll upgrade to when Mortensen and Brannigan’s ship comes in. With luck, Richard would be out on the town so I could perform my ablutions in total peace, accompanied only by a long cool drink.

Well, I’d been right about one thing at least. Richard was certainly going out on the town. What I hadn’t bargained for was being there with him. So much for my plans. I knew I was no match for Richard tonight. I was just too tired to win the argument. Besides, deep down, I knew I didn’t have a leg to stand on. He’d bitten the bullet and got suited up to escort me to an obligatory dinner party the week before. After subjecting him to an evening with a bunch of insurance executives and their wives, spinach pancakes and all, I owed him. And I suspected he knew it. But just because it was my turn to suffer didn’t mean I had to cave in without a whinge.

As I vigorously rubbed shampoo into my unruly auburn hair, a blast of cold air hit my spine. I turned, knowing exactly what I’d see. Richard’s face smiled nervously at me through the open door of the

“Get back in here,” I yelled after him, but he sensibly ignored me. It’s at moments like this I just don’t understand why I broke all the rules of a lifetime and allowed this man to invade my personal space.