‘You bitch,’ said Shauna, still looking daggers at Claire.

‘I’m not here to cause trouble,’ said Claire. ‘This is what Josh wanted. That’s the only reason I came here, to respect his wishes.’

Shauna looked set to start again.

‘I have to warn you,’ said McCready, puffing himself up.

‘There won’t be any trouble,’ said Connor, glancing over at the white-faced receptionist then looking at his mum. ‘Sorry. It’s all fine now. Isn’t it?’

Shauna just glared at him.

‘Then . . . if you would all like to come upstairs . . . ?’ said McCready uncertainly, and turned and led the way.

On entering the office, Connor was careful to place the Milo woman at the far side of the room on his left, then Suki, then he seated himself, then Aysha, then Shauna. Better to keep a big distance between Shauna and the woman Josh had been having his torrid affair with. Shauna still looked ready to rip Claire to pieces. All Connor wanted to do was get this done and get the fuck out of it.

With calm descending – and God knew how long it was going to last – James McCready quickly attended to the reading of Joshua Flynn’s last will and testament. In measured tones McCready told them all that Josh’s will had been made out a year ago. In it, he bequeathed the million-pound-plus family home to his wife Shauna, and a hundred thousand pounds to each of his children, Connor and Aysha. To Claire Milo, he left five hundred thousand pounds so that she could live in comfort in the future.

‘He what? I’ll contest that,’ shot out Shauna when McCready read it aloud.

‘That is your right,’ he said.

‘She’s nothing but a whore. I’m going to pull all the hairs out of her lousy crab-infested twat.’

‘Mrs Flynn, please moderate your language.’

‘Yeah, Mum, shut it,’ said Connor.

‘Dad left her how much?’ said Aysha faintly, looking across at Claire as if she was the stuff of nightmares.

‘Five hundred thousand,’ snapped Shauna, putting a shaking hand to her brow. She glared at Claire and at Suki. ‘But she’s not having it. She’s not having a bean. I swear it. She’s not having a penny, over my dead fucking body.’

McCready was folding the will. His job was done.

‘Come on,’ said Connor. ‘Let’s go.’

They all piled down the stairs and Connor ushered his mum and sister out the door. As he went to follow, Claire Milo caught his arm.

‘What?’ he snapped.

‘Ask your mother about the Cleaver boys,’ said Claire, her eyes holding his, her mouth trembling. ‘Ask her about what they did to me and to my dog Blue. Just ask her.’

When Connor had dropped off Aysha at her place and driven over and parked the Porsche on the driveway of the Henley house, he followed Shauna inside. She led the way into the kitchen and started making tea.