‘He’s busy. I’m his partner, so I’m taking all calls,’ Nell said crisply. ‘Who am I speaking to?’

‘Um … Dillon Hobkins.’

Why had he hesitated before giving his name? She waited but he didn’t clarify further so she asked, ‘And which department are you from?’

‘Town planning. Look, could you ask Mr Denning to ring me back, please? It’s quite urgent.’

‘Angus won’t be available for a day or two, I’m afraid. He’s working on a special project.’ She didn’t tell this man that Angus was working at home – though she sometimes thought of it as working in cyberland, because mentally he was more absent than present when a project was urgent. And they usually were critical, since he specialised in troubleshooting and apparently had a knack for seeing something that didn’t fit properly or had unforeseen consequences when a program was applied to a situation.

She waited and when there was still only silence from the other end, she prompted, ‘Surely I could help? I am his business partner, after all.’

‘Oh. Er, well, I’m afraid not. You don’t own the land.’

Own the land? Why should this caller be so heavily focused on that aspect? She couldn’t help thinking that developer might be behind this. A phrase from a passage in the Bible she’d had to learn by heart at school as a punishment leapt suddenly into her mind: Exodus 20:17 ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house …’ She sometimes thought they were living in an age of greed where people always wanted more, more, more, sometimes even when things clearly belonged to other people.

She didn’t probe further and tried to keep her tone indifferent. ‘Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait to speak to him. His current project is extremely urgent and could last for several days.’ And it was highly lucrative, too.

‘I’ll write to him. Please bring my letter to his attention and ask him to contact me at the earliest possible moment.’

‘I’ll do that.’

She felt uneasy as she put down the phone. Very uneasy. She didn’t like the thought of the council getting involved in this because they had powers to purchase land compulsorily.

To Nell’s surprise a letter was delivered by hand two hours later. She heard the sound of a small motorcycle then the door knocker was banged several times.

When she answered it, she found a youth holding a large envelope.

‘It has to be signed for.’

‘What is it?’

He shrugged. ‘Dunno. I just deliver them for the council.’

She duly signed and studied the letter as he drove off. The envelope had the council logo on it and Angus’s name with ‘For personal attention only’ on the outside.

She peered into Angus’s office but he didn’t even notice her, so she went back to the kitchen and stared at the envelope. He’d given her carte blanche to open his mail when he was deep in a project, insisting it was a relief to have her there in case something needed an urgent reply.