Next to her, the phone buzzed and Zara realised that was what had woken her. Grabbing it, she answered without looking at the screen.

‘It’s Jack.’

‘Jack? Really?’ She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice.

‘I know. I know. But we did say we had a friendship until the next story …’ He hesitated before asking, ‘How are things out there?’

‘The same, really. The doctor tried to get us to take Will into the hospital, but we won’t do it. It’s not right, since we promised him that he would stay at home.’

‘Big ask.’

‘It’s what he wanted,’ she answered simply.

‘You’re probably wondering why I’m ringing. Are you up for a chat? Or would you rather I left it for a while?’

‘I’m a little curious. And I could do with a distraction. But let me check on Will first and I’ll call you back. Is that okay?’

‘Sure thing.’

Tucking her phone into her jeans, she jogged back to the house and found her mum sitting in the chair next to Will’s bed. She’d opened the curtains and the setting sun was casting an orange glow across the room, falling on Will’s face. He looked peaceful.

‘Sleep okay?’ Lynda asked when she saw her. ‘You looked like you needed it.’

‘You do too. Can I get you anything?’

Lynda shook her head.

‘I’ll be back in a sec.’ Zara left the room and went to ring Jack. ‘I’m back,’ she said when he answered.

‘Okay?’

‘No change. So what did you want to chat about? I’m guessing that Dave has been busy.’

‘Well, I can’t comment on that. But what I can tell you is that we found the drone. I don’t think it’ll be a bother again.’

‘That’s great! What were they looking for?’ she asked without thinking.

‘I can’t answer that either.’

‘Right, so why are you ringing?’

Zara heard the smile in Jack’s voice when he admitted, ‘I wanted to see how you were going.’

‘That’s nice of you, thanks. I didn’t mean to cry all over you today. Sorry about that.’

‘It wasn’t a problem.’

Zara stretched. ‘Can I ask you something?’

‘I don’t promise to answer.’

Zara let out an exasperated breath. ‘What you need to understand about me, Jack, is I’m a journo not a reporter. I find out the facts and I don’t sensationalise things. I’m not going to hang you out to dry if you give me a snippet of information!’

‘I’m not in the habit of doing that, but ask away. If I can answer, I will.’

Zara thought about that. ‘Was Sophie Grawd in the car you pulled over today?’

There was a silence.

‘I recognised her from the court case.’