Janine stood in the doorway in a white coat over her blouse and skirt. She looked better than she had on the night of the party. She was calm, strong, a professional – not a woman suspected of murder.

‘I’m sorry to barge in on you,’ Cindy said. ‘Do you have five minutes?’

‘I suppose.’ Janine nodded at the woman next to Cindy. ‘Toiana, do you mind?’

The woman waved a hand. ‘You two friends take all the time you want. We’re just fine here.’

Janine led her into her office. Cindy had been here many times, but it felt different now, and she felt out of place. Janine sat down behind her desk and said what Cindy was thinking. ‘You probably shouldn’t be here, you know. We shouldn’t be talking. Your husband and my lawyer wouldn’t be happy with us.’

‘I don’t care,’ Cindy said. ‘Do you?’

Janine laughed, showing a little bit of her old self. ‘Not really.’

‘So how are you?’

‘Trying to go on with my life as if nothing was happening,’ Janine replied. ‘Which is impossible, of course.’

‘Sure.’ Cindy bit her lip and then said: ‘I just wanted to tell you that I believe you about Jay. I told Jonny you didn’t do it.’

‘I appreciate that. Most people seem to have their minds made up about me.’

‘You have lots of defenders.’

‘I’m not so sure. Everywhere I go now, people suddenly stop talking. I realize it’s because they were gossiping about me and Jay. And not because they think I’m innocent.’

‘That woman outside thinks you’re a saint.’

Janine didn’t look comforted. ‘Oh, patients, yes. You save a life, they love you forever. Mind you, if you fail, they hate you just as much. I’m not comfortable with it either way.’

She got up and went to the window. She put a hand on the glass, and when she took her fingers away, the warmth left behind a ghost of steam. ‘I’m not looking forward to facing a jury of my peers,’ she added. ‘I don’t have peers. I know how arrogant that sounds, but I don’t. I’m not sure an ordinary person could understand my life.’

‘It won’t come to that,’ Cindy said.

‘Yes, it will. Let’s not kid ourselves. There’s a courtroom in my future.’

‘Jonny won’t ignore evidence that exonerates you.’

‘Maybe not, but it’s hard to dislodge an idea in someone’s head, once it puts down roots.’

Cindy wanted to say something more, but Janine held up a hand to stop her. Her friend came closer. For a moment, Cindy thought Janine might hug her, but she stopped short. Janine wasn’t a physical woman in that way. She shied away from sentiment.