I also wrote an account of my conversation with the Smiling Assassin about the Joker’s coercion, but I’m not sure yet if I’ll bring that up. Those are the big guns, the Godfather told me, only to be fired if things are truly dire.

‘Okay,’ I said, feeling a bit sick.

‘Be confident,’ he urged. ‘You haven’t done anything wrong. Yeah, you kissed your boss after a boozy dinner. Big fucking deal. This other guy, the Joker, he’s behaved disgracefully.’ He shook his head. ‘Look, if it gets too much, say you’d like to call your lawyer, and I’ll walk down from the ward and be there as your advocate.’

We both grinned, imagining me presenting my lawyer—another intern. At least it would be kind of funny.

The hours crawl towards 4.15 pm. I barely focus at work. I screw up cannulas on every single unfortunate patient who needs a drip on the ward because I’m so distracted.

I meet up with Estelle at 3.45 pm. I’m reluctant to tell her that the fateful night when I met her in the utility room has led to my demise, so instead I explain that Nicole has told the Joker I had an affair with Dr Prince and now I’m disgraced professionally and probably so is he.

‘God, you didn’t even have sex with him,’ she says, rolling her eyes. ‘At least then you could have said it was worth it. All you managed was a pash and a heart attack.’

‘It’s like the name of a band,’ I can’t help pointing out. ‘Pash and Attack.’

‘Or a dance move,’ Estelle says and, despite ourselves, we both smile. ‘You know,’ she muses, ‘I always did have this dream of opening a little ice-cream shop by the sea. I was going to call it Hot Licks. I think it would have been a huge success.’

I picture a nice little ice-cream place in an idyllic seaside location. I see Estelle and myself in matching aprons, with long sun-flecked hair and golden tans.

‘Man, that would be so good,’ I say wistfully, looking across at her.

‘It’s not too late,’ Estelle says. ‘By the end of this week we could both be out of a job, so why not?’

‘I wonder if Dad would lend me some money to get Hot Licks started? I could sell it to him as an investment …’

‘There’s really nothing to worry about,’ Estelle says positively. ‘Just go in there, tell them the truth—what a fucking knob old mate is—then say thanks very much you’re quitting anyway. This time next week, we’ll be looking for a nice little shop to rent in Palm Beach or somewhere.’

Estelle and I have been through a lot together. If I’m going to throw it all in to open an ice-cream shop with anybody, I’m glad it’s her.