Today was unlikely to be busy. There were a few new titles to unpack and two boxes of second-hand books to sift through and price up, but Erica was looking forward to a quiet time. Her tennis match was booked in at three and she could be well sorted by then, leaving Brian, the rather wet but willing student, to hold the fort for the rest of the afternoon.

It was at around 11 a.m. that the unexpected visitor arrived. He was an insignificant-looking man in a black anorak, and he carried a black holdall. He wandered up and down the shelves, glanced at Erica’s table arrangement of books about the Himalaya–but was clearly preoccupied.

Erica nodded at Brian to keep an eye. The man was obviously shoplifter material. The soft tones of Radio 3 maintained the calm air of tranquility, but for a few minutes Erica and Brian went into surveillance mode.

The only other customer in the shop came to the counter with a copy of James Morris’s Venice. ‘You’ll enjoy that,’ said Erica, slipping it into a bag but barely taking her eyes off the man in black.

The customer thanked her and left. As if he had been waiting to have the shop to himself, the man came up to the counter. Erica asked pointedly, ‘Can I help you?’

‘Well, it’s more how I can help you,’ replied the man.

She didn’t like the look of him much. He was quite neat, scrubbed even, but there was something about him that seemed shifty. Slightly seedy. And he smelled too strongly of aftershave.

‘Oh?’

‘Yes. I represent the local co-operative business venture.’

Erica looked puzzled. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.’ She glanced sideways at Brian who shrugged. Clearly he hadn’t heard of it either.

Unabashed, the man continued. ‘We are a consortium of local businesses and we run the association as a sort of co-operative. Pooling resources for mutual benefit.’

‘What sort of resources?’ asked Erica.

‘Business expertise, contacts, insurance, that sort of thing.’

‘Well, I’m not really sure I need that sort of thing, thanks.’

The man seemed unperturbed. He carried on. ‘I think you’ll find it really worthwhile to join. We have quite a lot of local businesses on board now and they all know that it makes sense to pull together.’

Erica didn’t want to appear obstructive. ‘Is it something to do with the local Chamber of Trade?’

‘Not exactly. Sort of affiliated but not a part of, if you see what I mean.’

‘Well, what does it involve? I’m not sure I have the time for any more commitments, you see.’ Erica was hopeful of getting rid of him, but the man refused to budge.

‘Oh, it will take none of your time at all. Just a contribution once a month.’

‘And what do I get for my contribution?’