‘Hey,’ I say. ‘Have you got a minute?’ I look at her, pleading for leniency.

‘Naomi, I—’ she starts, showing no sign of inviting me in. I wouldn’t rush either, if she’d used me as an alibi for something she clearly didn’t do.

‘Please,’ I beg.

She hesitates a split second before standing aside and beckoning me in.

‘Tea?’ she offers, though it’s obvious that every fibre in her being wants me to say no.

I nod. ‘Thank you.’

‘Is everything set for this afternoon?’ she asks, filling the kettle under the tap.

‘I think so.’

‘I guess it’s been a real strain on Leon,’ she moots.

‘It’s definitely taken its toll,’ I say, feeling like I might cry. ‘But I’m sure everything will calm down once the concert’s out of the way.’ If only that were true.

‘So, do you want to talk about the elephant in the room,’ she says.

I swallow. ‘I’m sorry for putting you in that position the other night.’

‘I was surprised, to say the least,’ she says, looking at me disapprovingly. ‘I like Leon and I don’t want to be your alibi if you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing.’

‘No,’ I say, shaking my head. ‘It’s not like that.’

‘Well, what’s going on then?’

I sigh. ‘It’s a very long story and not something that I gave a second’s thought to at the time, but . . .’

She looks at me with raised eyebrows, waiting for me to go on.

‘But if I’d known that telling a tiny white lie would lead to this . . .’ I shrug my shoulders, looking around hopelessly. ‘Then I would never . . .’

Despite trying desperately hard not to, I can’t stop my eyes filling up with tears, and Shelley comes and puts her arm around me.

‘What on earth’s happened?’ she asks.

‘I can’t go into it because I don’t want you to be in any way involved, but you have to trust me that I’ve done nothing wrong.’

‘You’re scaring me,’ she says, wide-eyed.

‘It’s going to be fine,’ I say. ‘But I need your help.’

‘O-kay,’ she says, hesitantly.

‘Is there a woman in your choir called Vanessa Talbot?’

She looks beyond confused, her eyes silently questioning me. ‘It could be Ness,’ she says. ‘But I don’t know her surname.’

‘Do you know anything about her?’ I ask. ‘Is she married? Does she have children?’

She looks away, almost embarrassed. ‘I only know she’s married because there’s been talk of her having an affair.’

My chest tightens. ‘Recently?’ I ask.

Shelley nods. ‘A couple of months ago,’ she says. ‘And as you can imagine, it caused quite the scandal. In fact, I haven’t seen her since.’

‘Do you happen to have her phone number?’ I ask.