I don’t need to be any more explicit for Katarina to understand. ‘That is an excellent idea.’ She makes a note in the book she keeps in her pocket.

I am struck by the fact that my grandmother’s skin has a faint blue tinge, like Jane’s this morning. I know that the living can get this too, when their hearts aren’t at full function, so their blood isn’t properly oxygenated. Another piece of knowledge gifted to me by Zac.

‘And I think a GP appointment, too, please, Katarina. So that he can have a listen to her heart, and take her blood pressure.’

‘I’ll arrange it tomorrow.’ Katarina makes another note. ‘You’ve been more tired than usual, haven’t you, Mrs Lawrence.’

‘Nonsense, you silly girl!’ my grandmother charmingly says, despite having spent a good deal of time complaining to me of this very thing.

Katarina motions me to the other side of the room, where I rest my head against the chalk-pink wall, tastefully decorated in washable, wipe-able paint.

‘Don’t talk about me behind my back,’ my grandmother says to us, in her whisper.

‘Sorry to ask this, but can you please make sure she isn’t on her own outside again? And the usual vigilance about no visitors other than me?’

‘Of course. It was just for a few minutes. No need to worry. Have you had a hard day?’

I glance across at my grandmother, who is wearing the expression of someone sucking on a sour lemon. ‘It can’t be as hard as yours.’

‘You do know,’ Katarina says, ‘it is the condition that makes them act this way. It can make them mean.’

‘Thank you,’ I say. ‘But she’s always been like this.’

Then
Eavesdropping

Two years and one month earlier

Cornwall, Early March 2017

A month after leaving the canister in the gorse for Maxine, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever hear from her again.

The fleeting pink blossom that I loved so much appeared in Zac’s front garden. The blossom, capped thick with snow, made the ornamental cherry tree look as if it was decorated with cupcakes. Flitting brightly among the branches were the crimson faces of goldfinches and the yellow breasts of blue tits. The birds were drawn by the feeders I put out for them.