I could tell that she checked herself right then, and because I knew her, I also knew that she was thinking that our personal relationship issues weren’t the worst thing happening today. ‘Then tell me what happened today.’

‘Okay, here’s the truth,’ I said. ‘I pass by the house every once in a while – it’s kind of on the way to work, okay? And last time I was by here, I saw this big guy trying to jimmy your front door. I warned him off and asked the cops to step up patrols.’

‘The attempted break-in card,’ Claire said. ‘Was it Derrick who was trying to break in?’

I nodded. ‘Yeah, he introduced himself. He’s a real douche bag.’

‘He’s Liz’s stalker.’

‘Well, that fits. He had the vibe.’

‘So it was Derrick who went in to get her.’

‘No,’ I said, and leant forward to lower my voice. ‘It was four guys in a very slick military manoeuvre – one in a delivery van with a sliding door that blocked the view of the front, and three who went inside. They had master keys, because they opened it up fast and went in quietly. Then, about a minute later, they came out with a girl with a black hood over her face – like some kind of CIA rendition from the movies. She wasn’t protesting too much; I think she was too scared. I was going to move, because I honestly thought it might be you, Claire, until I saw her getting into the van; she didn’t move like you, and she was as tall as Eve, so I thought it must be your friend. One of the men went back inside, and then all of a sudden, Derrick showed up. I don’t think he knew what was going on – he was across the street in his usual spot, holding up the lamp post. All he knew was that the door was open, so he bolted inside; he didn’t even know they’d taken the girl out.’

‘Liz,’ Claire said softly. ‘Her name is Liz.’

‘I know. Sorry. I would have done something, except I’m not in the best shape right now.’

She paused, biting her lip, studying my face. ‘God, Shane. You weren’t kidding, were you? You really got beat up.’

I had, and I felt it. The aches and pains were bad enough, but half my face was throbbing, and I knew the bruising was going to darken into a spectacular tie-dye pattern. Plus, my damn arm hurt as if I’d cracked a bone, though I knew I hadn’t, or at least the X-rays hadn’t showed it. The skin itched something crazy, as if I’d fallen into a bunch of poison ivy. Not too likely, even if we were Ivy League-adjacent.