Suki appeared from the back office with a cup of coffee. She leaned over to look at the portrait that was resolving out of the swirls and curls on the page. ‘That’s nice.’

And it was – no scars or slashes or rips in the skin, no fluid oozing. Just a pretty girl with light in her eyes. Maybe Suki’s pills were helping. Petra let a long breath out.

‘You know you don’t need to be here,’ Suki said.

‘I really want to be here,’ Petra said. Here in the familiar surroundings, Petra’s life was beginning to feel manageable again, just about under control. She hadn’t told Suki that she’d gone to kill Curtis Worthing, but she’d told her almost everything else. About her mother’s death, how she imagined she’d seen her at the show, about Falling Guy and his daughter. She didn’t know why she’d battled alone for all this time after her mother died, why she hadn’t come straight to Suki, basically her only real friend.

Yes, she did. She thought Vincent would be there for her. She thought if anyone in the world would understand what she was going through, what she’d seen, it would be Vincent.

That’s why she couldn’t bring herself to tell Suki how Falling Guy had snubbed her, made her feel like a teen stalker obsessing after a one-night stand. It fucking ached.

‘Can I bring you anything to eat? There are some Maltesers stashed somewhere, I think.’

‘You wouldn’t know because you don’t touch human food yourself, of course.’

‘Exactly. Wine? Another Diazepam?’

‘I’m good for now, thanks.’ Petra’s tentative smile froze when the shop door chimed open.

Instinctively, Petra stood up and stepped across Suki, shielding her from the man in the doorway. ‘I don’t think you’re welcome here.’

Freddie hesitated, glancing around him like a rat in a spotlight. His hand was suspended mid-motion, the door half open and a cold breeze rushing through.

Petra took three steps forward, remembering how he’d locked the door last time. If he tried that again, she’d need to push by him, make sure that door stayed open, get out onto the pavement, yell for help.

‘Go on,’ she said. ‘You’d better just leave.’

Freddie’s eyes twitched from her to Suki behind her and down at the floor. ‘Wh–what?’

Petra felt Suki’s hands on her shoulder, gently, firmly directing her back to her stool. ‘Come in, Freddie! Don’t worry. Our darling Pet’s under the weather. Hasn’t been herself the last few days, has she?’ She advanced towards the man, ushering him in and closing the door against the weather behind him. ‘Come in, love. We’ve just got a new shipment of Black Panther Party and Dragon Age. Go have a look. You’re welcome.’