‘I agree,’ said Jude. ‘And it’s something Chrissie said that interested me.’

‘She’s right here with me. Why don’t I put you on speakerphone?’

‘If you wouldn’t mind …’

‘Hi, Jude,’ said the third voice.

‘Hi, Chrissie.’

‘Or should that be “Hey, Jude”?’

‘If you like.’ That particular line was an occupational hazard for anyone with her name.

‘Anyway, Jude, what can I do for you?’

‘Chrissie, it was a client of yours you talked about … or rather you didn’t talk about much, because of client confidentiality.’

‘Ah. I think I know the one you’re talking about.’

‘It was in connection with this healer I’ve met called Jeremiah …’

‘Yes. And I remember I said I couldn’t discuss it because it involved someone I was treating at the time.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Karen and I talked about that afterwards and she said she thought I was being over-scrupulous.’

‘You were,’ Karen affirmed.

‘So … are you prepared to talk about it now?’

‘Yes, Jude. In the circumstances, definitely yes.’

There was a silence. Jude was aware, out of the corner of her eye, that Carole was keying in a number on her mobile phone. Unusual. But whoever she was phoning wasn’t there. She appeared to be listening to an answering message. Jude, however, was more interested in what was happening in Ilkley.

Chrissie took a deep breath before she began her narrative. ‘All right, I had only just got my reiki qualification. I was working out of this place I mentioned in Wetherby, and a mother brought her daughter along to the clinic. The girl had ME … you know, myalgic encephalomyelitis …’

‘Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,’ said Jude.

‘That’s it. Not that long ago dismissed as “yuppie flu”. The girl was, I don’t know, early twenties and her mother was at her wits’ end. Her daughter was qualified as a solicitor but hadn’t got the energy to get out of bed, let alone hold down a job. They’d tried all kinds of therapies, but nothing had worked. The mother had heard about reiki somewhere and asked me if I thought it might help. I told her that I certainly couldn’t cure the condition – I was very insistent that she took that on board – but that reiki sessions might alleviate some of the symptoms. And they did. I was pleased. After each session, the client was certainly more relaxed and had a bit more energy.

‘I was particularly pleased because, you know, as one of my first clients, I was anxious to do well with her. And so we got into a regular pattern of sessions twice a week for – I don’t know – a couple of months, I suppose.