Though he rubbed his chin worriedly, Tubb did pull the staff rota out of his email and look over it.

Janice gave him a reassuring pat as she read it over his shoulder. ‘It’s no different to when we went on holiday together, is it? Tina’s running the show, which is why you paid for her to get her licence.’

‘Suppose.’ Tubb looked as if he were allowing himself to be talked round.

On-screen Janice smiled. ‘How long’s Lily going to be off? According to this rota she’s due back on the 13th. Will that be too soon for her injury?’

‘It could be.’ That had been next on Isaac’s list. ‘I think we ought to give her that weekend off with pay. She would have been self-certifying this week if she hadn’t been down for annual leave.’ Quickly they covered Lily seeing her GP for a certificate and Isaac reporting the incident to the Health & Safety Executive.

Tubb nodded. ‘It’ll be busy by then, mid-December.’

They worked through all the organisational details that would allow Isaac to take an abrupt leave of absence. ‘I’ve just about accrued enough annual leave to cover the trip,’ he said finally.

Tubb grinned, his eyes twinkling. ‘I won’t let you lose by it. I suspect Max and his boss will see you as the hero of the hour.’

When the call was ended, Isaac tried to call Hayley but it went straight to voicemail. He left a message asking her to call back as soon as possible, then, for good measure, texted her too. Sorry for the short notice but is there any chance of you taking Doggo back from today until the 10th or 11th December? Something urgent’s come up.

The next message went to Lily. Tina and Tubb on board. Working my way through details but we can go ahead with me as driver.

He rang Flora next, explaining as briefly as he could. ‘So, two things. Is it OK for me to call at yours and grab my cold weather gear out of your loft? And can you work an extra evening shift? It’ll be Wednesday the 4th.’

Flora sounded pleased. ‘A chance to earn more money? Yes, please. Willow doesn’t work on Wednesdays so she can have the kids.’

‘Great, thanks.’ Isaac ended the call and tried Hayley’s phone again. If he was to deliver Doggo it would save time if he could do it on the same trip as going to Flora’s. Once again the call went to voicemail. Damn. She hadn’t asked to come over to see Doggo this weekend. Maybe she was away. He tried the number of the kennels that had looked after Doggo when Isaac and Hayley went away together but found they were booked up. He read reviews on a couple of others but wasn’t keen. Shit.