‘The agent – Viper – was your husband?’

‘If you already know the answer, there is no need to pose the question.’

‘I’m sorry, that must have been extremely hard.’

‘I’m looking for a deputy, not a therapist.’

‘And you won’t regret hiring me. I’m very thorough.’

Kate watched the rain hammer the glass. She stood, determined to draw this audience to a close. She offered her hand. ‘Thank you for coming in, Miss Spencer.’

‘Was that all right?’ Suzy asked, a sudden and rather startling hint of humility in her gaze. ‘Did I get the job?’

‘I’ll let you know.’

Kate sat again and watched as Suzy retrieved her coat, then headed down the corridor. She couldn’t really have had graver reservations about the woman, but that was beside the point. On this, she accepted, Ian would have his way.

But the much bigger question was simple enough: why was he so determined to inflict this outsider on them? It wasn’t his idea, of that much she was certain.

1

Three weeks later

SAVE FOR A thin skein of mist that curled its way around the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute on the far side of the Grand Canal, it was a bright, crisp, clear morning in Venice. The kind of day, in fact, that Kate Henderson might have been enjoying in any other circumstances. Sometimes being away with your family was murder.

‘Why do you keep drumming your fingers on the table?’ Gus asked. ‘You hate it when people do that.’

Kate forced herself to stop. She smiled at Julie, who was sitting opposite. ‘Your mum’s a bit nervous,’ Julie said. ‘Under the circumstances, I think that’s understandable, don’t you?’

They lapsed back into silence and watched a gondolier paddle slowly past. The tables on the breakfast terrace were full of Chinese tourists, mostly glued to their phones. They didn’t seem to be eating much either.

Kate couldn’t resist returning to a study of her daughter’s plate. ‘Please eat up, love,’ she said. Fiona had ordered a poached egg, Kate had insisted on toast, but neither was going anywhere near her daughter’s stomach as yet.

‘Just eat it, for fuck’s sake,’ Gus said. Remnants of his hearty breakfast were visible across a wide arc of the once pristine tablecloth.

‘Gus, please!’ Kate admonished. ‘Don’t talk to your sister like that. And don’t swear.’

‘Like you don’t.’

‘Not long to go now,’ Julie said. ‘And then we’ll all be a lot happier.’

No one returned her cheerful smile. Normally, Julie’s tumbling auburn hair, startling green eyes and full-figured beauty were enough to keep Kate’s son mesmerized, but not that morning. ‘Does Dad have a new girlfriend?’ Gus asked his mother.

‘For God’s sake, Gus!’ Fiona glared at him, her piercing blue eyes radiating fury. She’d applied make-up for the first time in months and pulled her hair back into a neat bun, which served to highlight her increasingly gaunt cheeks. There was no question that her conflict with food was on the cusp of robbing her of her looks. She got up from the table and stormed off.