Flora was trying to remember some of the techniques Dr. Carrson suggested when she had meltdowns like this. She grabbed her iPhone and played a YouTube video of a thunderstorm at sea. She loved these sounds, and while it was playing, she did some breathing exercises.

Her heart started to calm, and her mind slowed down a little. Despite these fears, she did feel that the doctor was going to help her cope.

In the middle of her breathing exercise, her phone rang, giving her a fright.

Flora looked at the phone and saw it was Mack calling. She sat up and answered.

“Hi, wee mouse, I hope you don’t mind me video calling you?”

“No, I’m always happy to see your face.”

That made Mack smile wide. “That’s nice to know. Hey, have you been crying?”

“Just a bit. The day’s emotions got too much for me. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Mack said. “I thought I’d phone and let you see my flat. The whole guided tour, you know? Then you could picture in your head what poker night might be like. What do you think?”

“That would be a good idea.”

Mack smiled. “I’m full of good ideas. Where will I start? Hmm…I’ll show the flat as if you’re just arriving, okay?”

“Yes,” Flora said.

“Okay, I’m just going to the front door and out to the lift. You okay with lifts? It’s not one of your things, is it?”

Flora chuckled at Mack’s shorthand for her spectrum difficulties. “They’re not my favourite thing, but I get through it.”

“Good, I mean, I’d be there with you. I’d pick you up. So, anyway, you come out of the lift, and my flat is just around the corner.” Mack switched the camera so Flora could see what it was like from her view. “You see the white door? That’s mine and Dex’s den.”

Flora laughed at Mack’s description and felt more relaxed already. Then she spotted a security camera above the door. She knew doorbell cameras were popular now, but this was a proper security camera that you’d see in a shopping centre or something.

“Mack? Why do you have a camera there?”

Mack flipped the camera view back to her face. “It’s just the nature of the business the family is in sometimes, if you know what I mean. People might come to the door looking to do more that deliver a pizza.”

She always felt a strange mixture of emotions when she was reminded of the darker side of the Sharkeys’ business. Her initial reaction was worry about what she was becoming involved in, but then she told herself that Mack would never do anything illegal without being pushed, like after Kevin Drury tried to hurt Isy.

“So we go down the hall…”

Flora followed Mack’s camera intently.