‘The council were supposed to put a notice up.’ Jenna sounds surprised, but she’s sticking her ground. Claire moves a fraction so that she can see a small sliver of Jenna standing below Pim on the doorstep. She has perfect blonde hair, poking out beneath a stylish hat. She’s in her camouflage Dryrobe, but even in such an oversized garment, you can tell she’s slim. Her perfect chin juts out now. She’s not intimidated by Pim. ‘I thought you’d have seen it.’

‘There wasn’t a notice.’

Claire slinks back and presses herself against the cooker and her bum makes the gas ignition click. She should go to the door. She should make peace and smooth things over but she’s too frightened to confront either of them. To be fair, Pim is hardly a confrontational type. He’s usually so mild-mannered and polite. That’s what attracted her to him in the first place – because he was such a gentleman. But lockdown has made everyone exposed and raw and this is all escalating too fast. She has to stop it.

‘There’s plenty of other houses with extensions in the street, so I really don’t think it’s worth your time or energy making a fuss. We’re going to fight to make it happen, no matter what you say.’ Jenna sounds steely. Her voice has become posher.

A moment later, Claire hears the door shut forcefully. Pim goes into the den and flicks on the TV.

‘Pim. Oh my God! That was so rude! Did you just slam the door in her face?’

Pim wriggles back in the recliner in a self-justified manner. He’s pretending to watch a game show – the type he can’t stand.

‘You can’t be so aggressive. She’s our neighbour. She’s my friend.’ Claire is aghast.

‘She’s the aggressive one! And anyway, you’re supposed to be on my side.’

Clearly annoyed that she’s criticised him, he gets up and stomps upstairs. The boys are next door in the lounge on the game, oblivious to the drama.

Claire stands in the corridor, feeling the pulsing male energy of the house. She’s tempted to go straight around to Jenna’s to make peace. She walks into the kitchen and, on a whim, picks up her swimming bag. There’s always a chance that Jenna might go to the beach anyway.

10

Luna

Maddy is on her laptop, but she jumps as her phone buzzes, and when she takes it out she sees it’s a withheld number. Please let this be the callback from the social services, she prays as she answers.

It feels unbearable that she might be in the same town as her son, but she’s been here for nearly a whole week and she can’t find him. It’s not for lack of trying. It’s infuriating that Jamie could be in any of these buildings. He could be just a wall away.

It is the callback and she gushes to the woman, Reeva, about how grateful she is for her time. But Reeva – a woman who couldn’t sound more bored if she tried – isn’t going to be able to provide any answers either. It’s the same old story Maddy has heard everywhere she’s tried. Jamie is an adult. She’s not at liberty to divulge if there’s even any ‘data’ on him.