She sipped her drink and thought how radically things had changed over the last few years. Greenborough had always been a pleasant rural market town. To some, it still was. One mile from the outskirts in any direction, and you were in the fenlands. One more mile to the east, and you were on the coastal marshes. It was fairly big, as market towns go, and the tidal river running right through the centre made it busier than some. But then there was the port. Small maybe, one end for the cockle fishing boats, and the other recently expanded to take in real ships again. Freighters and cargo vessels made their way in from the North Sea, through the Wash and into the estuary of the Wayland River. And with the extra jobs, the new opportunities and the illegal immigrants, had come a frightening increase in the drug trade.

The wine buzzed reassuringly on her tongue, and she took another sip.

Drugs, the bane of her life.

Nikki placed the glass on the floor, pulled one of the big cushions round, nestled her head on to it and wondered how she had become this extraordinary Avenging Angel, waging a one-woman crusade on the drug dealers. At times like this, the low moments, she wished with all her heart that she could give up her battle, but she couldn’t. She didn’t have much else left. Her mother had died, her father was in a nursing home and hardly recognized her, her husband Robert, had left her, and her daughter blamed her for everything that was wrong in the world.

Nikki smiled when she thought about Hannah. Yes, no matter how bad things got, she still had her daughter to consider. Okay, the girl wasn’t at home any more, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love her or care deeply what happened to her. She closed her eyes. It was far too late now, but whatever happened tomorrow, she would make time to ring and see how she was. Behind her closed eyelids she saw pictures of the dark, almost black hair, the deep brown, often angry eyes, and the clear, smooth olive skin that all her friends would have hocked their iPods for.

The picture faded. Maybe she should give up this rented dump. For the sake of her daughter, maybe she should go back to their family home on Cloud Fen. Clear out the old cottage. Gut it. Make it nice. Make it somewhere to call home again.