He downed the rest of his pint in one, the way he used to do with Andy when they were younger, always keen to be onto the next, slamming the empty glasses down on the bar like trophies. She gestured to the barman and ordered another round.

‘Son was a drug dealer,’ he said. ‘Gets himself killed. She feels guilty, like the whole thing’s her fault. Helpless.’

‘Is she?’

‘He’s dead. What can she do?’

‘I dunno. It must be difficult. I mean, to know what to do.’

He looked at her, not quite understanding. Her eyes held his gaze. They were not cold, but part of her had disappeared from view. Whoever she was, this woman he hardly knew, something had drained from her in an instant. Or perhaps he was reading too much into things. Perhaps that was always his problem.

The barman arrived with two drinks. She waved a card above the contactless device, waited for him to leave. And still she said nothing. Joe sensed no malice. She had withdrawn, but not, it seemed, because she wanted to.

‘I’ve got a son,’ he said, just to fill the silence. ‘If anything happened, I dunno what I’d do.’

Without thinking, he got out his phone and checked for messages. Nothing new from Sam.

‘Let’s have a look at him, then,’ she said, leaning so far in to him that he could feel loose strands of her hair against his face.

‘I…’ he said, fumbling with his phone, ‘y’know, I don’t think I have any. It’s a new phone. Haven’t got around to…’

‘How old is he?’

‘Sam? He’s studying Medicine in Edinburgh. First year.’

She pulled out her own phone.

‘What’s his number?’

‘Really?’

‘Come on, it’ll be fun!’

She typed the number in as he recited it from memory.

‘Past nine?’ she said, putting the phone to her ear. ‘He’ll be in the student bar.’

Then she held up a hand.

‘Hello? Is that Sam Romano? Hi, my name’s Chris Saunders. I’m getting drunk in a pub with your dad.’ She listened, laughed. ‘I know! But I’ve got him here now, so I’m making the most of it! Anyway, here’s the thing. Is there a woman there? A female friend? Right, could you pass the phone to her, just for a second?’

Joe looked on, helpless and incredulous.

‘Gemma? You’re a friend of Sam’s? Lovely. Listen, Sam’s dad is such a lame brain with tech that he doesn’t even have a photo of his own son on his phone. Would you be a darling and take one, then send it to me?’ She stopped, listened. ‘Yes, I know! Men, they just can’t, though!’

Even Joe could hear the hilarity that this was causing among Sam’s friends.

‘They’re taking one now,’ she explained, unnecessarily.