‘You are a star,’ Isaac breathed on a wave of relief. If Tina had said no or been too ill to co-operate he wasn’t sure where he’d have gone from there. Tubb was unlikely to be super-keen on an outside relief-relief manager coming in and it would probably have cost Isaac a month’s income or more, even if it could have been arranged at ultra-short notice. ‘Can you cover this afternoon while I get everything organised? Then I’ll come back for the evening to give you a short break before you take over as designated premises supervisor from the 2nd to the 9th. I’ll try and get back for the evening shift on the 10th, which is a Tuesday.’ They discussed logistics for a while before Isaac rang off.

Over a cup of coffee he came up with a staff rota to support Tina in his absence, emailed it to Tubb then sent him a text. Can we Skype ASAP? Something’s come up. Within two minutes of opening his Skype app on his computer, Harrison Tubb calling flashed up.

Tubb’s image was grainy and jerky but Isaac had no trouble seeing his furrowed frown. ‘What’s up?’ he demanded.

So Isaac explained, keeping his voice even, stressing that the situation was under control but had changed, omitting Zinnia blaming Lily for their parents’ split-up for fear that Tubb would want to know why and Isaac wouldn’t have a good answer.

Tubb looked angry and upset, smoothing back his thinning hair. ‘Why would Lily’s sister come in and have a row with her?’

‘She seems a bit excitable,’ Isaac said diplomatically, then moved swiftly on. ‘In the circumstances, I’ve emailed you a draft rota so you can see what I intend to do. I should have consulted you before committing to take the driving on but I explored other avenues with Lily and she’s really struggling to find an alternative driver at the eleventh hour. There seems a real danger of the whole trip having to be cancelled.’

‘Shit,’ Tubb said succinctly. He looked away from the screen and said, ‘Have you been listening to all this, Janice? It’s going to leave Max in an awkward position if the trip’s cancelled so maybe I should fly back to take over—’

Isaac barely had time to feel a quiver of alarm on Lily’s behalf before a calm female voice chimed in from out of shot. ‘Strictly against doctor’s orders and Isaac’s got Tina in place to run the pub.’ Janice’s face loomed into the on-screen image. ‘Hi, Isaac. This is a pain in the bum, isn’t it? Have you got the staff to agree to the extra hours?’

‘I thought I ought to speak to Mr Tubb first.’ Isaac’s eyes flicked to the clock in the corner of his computer screen. The morning was draining away.