‘Excuse me, are you Mrs Flynn?’ she asked. ‘I’m Lesley Deveney.’

Shauna nodded. ‘I was expecting a man,’ she said.

‘I get that all the time. Trust me, I blend in better.’ Lesley was used to this sort of mix-up. But she was the best. Dickhead Dandridge, her business partner, never missed a chance to sideswipe her with a sexist remark – but that was because he knew she was a better detective than he would ever be.

‘Sit down,’ said Shauna, and held up a hand. The waitress came over. ‘What’ll you have?’

‘Whatever you’re having,’ said Lesley, taking a notebook and pen out of her large black leather tote bag.

‘Two cappuccinos,’ said Shauna, and the waitress hurried off.

‘Mrs Flynn, would you like to fill me in on the details?’ asked Lesley, taking off her jacket and draping it over the back of the chair. ‘Thanks,’ she said, as the waitress came back and put the coffees on the table.

Shauna waited a beat until the waitress departed, then she said: ‘I think my husband could be having an affair.’

Those bright dark eyes held Shauna’s. The pen hovered over the notebook. ‘Based on . . . ?’

‘Based on a feeling.’

‘Your husband’s name . . . ?’

‘Josh Flynn. He’s a bare-knuckle fighter.’

Lesley wrote that down. ‘You got a picture?’

Shauna did. She handed it over. Lesley stared at Josh.

‘Striking-looking guy,’ she said.

‘Yeah. He is.’

‘And . . . ?’

‘And what?’

‘And what makes you think he is having an affair?’

Shauna told her about all the trips to the States. That Josh had seemed moody and withdrawn when he was here, but he’d had a call saying there was a fight on in New York and he’d perked up, looked happier straight away. And he’d nearly run out the door to get to the airport.

‘And there’s fuck-all happening in the bedroom. I mean, nothing. Not for quite a while.’ Like, years.

‘Maybe it’s just the prospect of the fight that’s cheering him up,’ said Lesley, sipping her coffee, her eyes on the photo.

‘He could find fights here, in this country,’ returned Shauna. ‘But he don’t seem interested in doing that any more. He wants to be there.’

‘You think that’s it? An affair?’

‘I do think that, yes. And I want to know the details. All about it. Who the woman is. Everything,’ said Shauna. And then I’m going to kill the bitch.

‘New York? That’s going to cost.’

Shauna gave a tight smile. ‘You’re mistaking me for someone who gives a shit. I want to know everything about this cow who’s fucking my husband. And when I catch up with her, she’d just better fucking well watch herself.’

‘Where does he stay when he’s out there?’

‘Waldorf Astoria.’

‘And what then?’ Lesley was writing things down in shorthand.

‘What?’

Lesley shrugged. ‘If we find you’re right. Divorce proceedings?’