They were on their second cup of coffee and no further forward when Noah called in, Paddy – the only dog apart from guide dogs allowed in Once Upon A Book – by his side. Jo was so engrossed in her conversation with Lorcan, she didn’t even realise until she felt a cold dog nose nudge her bare forearm.

‘Paddy!’ she exclaimed, as he raised his paw for a shake and his tail wagged enthusiastically.

‘I’m here too,’ Noah said. ‘Just calling in to see if Libby wants to go for a walk.’

‘Well, I didn’t think he wandered over here on his own,’ Jo teased. ‘I think Libby might be in the stockroom.’

Noah, not ever known for his subtlety, pulled a chair over and sat down beside them both. ‘I sense something serious in the works,’ he said. ‘Is this about McLachlan?’

‘It is,’ Jo replied, sitting back and crossing her legs. ‘Lorcan has uncovered a number of other victims and we’re just trying to figure out what to do next.’

Noah exhaled. ‘We could set Paddy here on him.’

Jo looked down to where Paddy lay placidly on the ground as he licked his front paws. Unless Ewan McLachlan had a fear of dogs licking him to death, that didn’t really work as a threat.

‘We’re thinking of taking the information to the press, or the police,’ she said. ‘Or at least contact the other women and chat to them about it.’

‘I have some names that haven’t been mentioned on Twitter yet. This is bigger than we could’ve thought and we want to make sure he never does this again to anyone else,’ Lorcan added, and Jo nodded.

‘And then I want to keep on writing, my own stories, and become successful enough to stick two fingers up to him,’ she said.

‘I like your fighting attitude,’ Noah said. ‘And we’ll do whatever we can to help.’

‘The best revenge is a life well lived,’ Jo said, ‘but I think I’d quite enjoy the second-best revenge too, which is to make sure he doesn’t do it again.’

‘Is the third-best revenge giving him a thump? Because I could be tempted with that as well,’ Noah suggested.

Jo laughed.

‘I have to say, sis, you’re handling this a lot better than I would. I would be so angry and hurt.’