My tears stopped when he switched on the light in his hallway. No one was prepared for what it exposed. It was impossible to know where to look first: the huge old metal diving helmet on the sideboard, the sunglasses-wearing stuffed squirrel with a cigarette sticking out of its mouth next to it or the hundreds of bizarre knick-knacks that surrounded them.

‘Excuse the mess.’ He led us down the hallway and disappeared into the lounge.

We all followed him with wide-eyed wonderment, like we were entering Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

‘We’ve been through all this, young lady, and I don’t even know your name,’ he said, dropping into a floral beat-up wing-backed chair that produced a plume of dust as he landed.

‘Constance,’ I said, scanning the huge wall of books before my eyes came to rest on a one-armed mannequin wearing a black bobbed wig, grass skirt and coconut bra.

Edward must have noticed me looking, as he said, ‘That’s Ursula. The only woman in my life, and how I like it . . . Now, Officers . . . Constance here is a hero.’

‘No, I’m not.’

‘Don’t you listen to her – she bloody well is.’

‘Mr Seymour, if you feel up to it, we need to go over what happened while we wait for the paramedics.’ The officer’s radio crackled. A muffled voice came through. She excused herself, then talked into it.

I’ve no idea what she said, because the sounds sent me back home. To Manchester. To that day. The room distorted. Slow motion, I looked down at the line of splattered blood across the white of my shirt. My legs weakened, vision dimmed, and I felt my knees bend beneath me.

‘Are you OK, Miss Little?’ The male officer propped me up. ‘I’ve got paramedics coming – don’t worry.’

‘Yes . . . yes, I’m fine. I felt a little dizzy, that’s all. I’m fine. I have to be somewhere, though – will it take long?’

Edward and I answered their questions succinctly. At least, I told them all that I could remember. They said our accounts matched that of the neighbour who’d called 999.

‘Though you shouldn’t have put yourself at risk like that, Miss Little,’ said the male officer.

The policewoman agreed, then smiled at me, like I was her hero as well as Edward’s, before saying, ‘So, medical backup is on its way, to check you both over.’

‘No, they are not, young lady. I’m fine. I’m old, not made of paper. You see, this is why I like Ursula – she doesn’t fuss. Now, you’ve asked your questions, and it’s not like you’ll actually do anything, and there’s a programme about the Berlin Wall starting soon, so if you wouldn’t mind . . .’

‘I really am fine as well,’ I said. ‘I just need to go.’

‘No, no, Constance. You must stay and have a cup of tea with me.’