Richard picked up his phone and dialled the number he knew by heart. It had always given him a thrill to ring Serena – the clandestine nature of their relationship – the excitement of anticipating their next meeting. But not today. With no idea of how she’d react when he asked her to tell the police about their relationship, Richard was hesitant, but surely she could have no objections to vouching for him? It wasn’t as if she was married – he’d been the one taking all the risks. He waited to hear her voice.

‘Richard, darling. How are you? Is Danny home yet?’ Serena positively purred into the phone, but at least she didn’t sound angry with him for neglecting her the last few days.

‘No, he isn’t. We should have had him home today but there’ve been some problems raising the money – so we have another two days to endure.’ Richard paused, hoping the bitterness of his words and the seriousness of the situation would touch Serena and she might reconsider helping him financially. She didn’t.

‘You poor thing. If you’d like to come over I could help you relax?’ Serena’s voice sounded seductive but he was in no mood for playing those games.

‘How the hell can I come over and relax when Danny’s life’s still in danger?’ he barked.

There was no reply, so he drew in a breath and continued in a gentler tone, ‘But I do need your help. The police have a theory that it could be someone we know who’s taken Danny and they want to look at all my current and recent cases and contacts. They’ve been to chambers but Martha told them I also worked in London handling pro bono cases. They know it’s not true so I’m going to have to tell them about you and I need you to vouch for me so they’ll stop asking awkward questions.’ Richard listened for an answer, uncertain how Serena would react. It seemed to take her forever to reply.

‘I’m not sure about this. Can’t the police take your word for it without having to drag me into your problems? You haven’t given them my name, have you?’

Richard felt rage rising inside him which he struggled to control. It was clear he’d been the one to do all the giving in their relationship – Serena was one of life’s takers.

‘Serena, what have you got to lose? I’m the one who’s married and whom the police are investigating. I’m the one with a family and a reputation to keep intact! All you’ll need to do is to answer a few questions concerning our relationship and the times we’ve been together.’

‘If that’s all – and if it helps you – I suppose you could give them my number.’