She didn’t want any members of the travelling public to interrupt them so before she left her office, she took off her red VTEC jacket and put on her fine wool coat, the long navy one, and wound her apricot-coloured scarf around her neck. She has her arms crossed and pressed tight to her body, against the cold, hands tucked between her sleeves and her coat because she forgot to put her gloves on. Her sleek hair is held in a ponytail.

PC Akash Lockhart stands a couple of metres away from Melissa, a little bit behind so he is well out of Andrew and Ruth’s eyeline, giving them some space. His presence isn’t necessary but all the same he can’t help feeling a little nervous as he watches them stand on the edge of the platform. He wonders when the next train is due and thinks, should I be a bit closer to them, just in case? He watches them while pretending not to.

This involves watching Melissa, who is in between him and them. He’s never really looked at Melissa for any length of time and this is the first time he’s seen her not in uniform. She has a neat nose, slightly retroussé. Her hair is fine but there is a lot of it and it shines across her scalp, the ponytail band tight at the nape of her neck, and just at the point that he is noticing her, she glances his way and gives a shy smile, in acknowledgement that what they are doing is a little unusual. He gives an involuntary smile in return while the ground opens up before his feet and it is as if he is tumbling in while thinking, oh no, really? Surely not. She’s in her thirties, and she’s white. Really?