Emma and Holly were both in the shop, Em just putting a tray of Baileys white chocolate truffles into the refrigerated counter, when she spotted the unmistakeably greasy head of Mr Neil (the Eel) lurking outside the shop window. She stayed low, hidden by the glass counter and the rows of chocolate therein, watching his next move.

As he pushed the shop door open, she ducked down to the floor right beside Holly’s legs. Her assistant gave her a quick, confused glance but then seemed to realise what was going on.

‘The Eel,’ Emma managed a low whisper.

Holly’s face settled into a pasted-on smile. ‘Good afternoon. How can I help you?’

‘Can I speak with Emma, please?’

‘Oh, I’m sorry, she had to pop out to Alnwick this afternoon.’ Holly was cool as a cucumber, though Emma was in fact a quivering wreck at her feet. This was no place for a thirty-something grown woman, but it had been her first instinct, and she just couldn’t face him and his snide comments today.

‘She had to do some banking,’ Holly followed up.

It was a Saturday, were the banks even open? Em mused.

‘Interesting …’ He let the word linger.

God, he was such a sleazeball.

‘Well, when might she be back?’

‘Umm, might be an hour or so … she did mention a couple of other errands she had to run as well.’ Bless her, Holly was keeping it deliberately vague.

‘Hmm, I may well call back in later. But,’ he added almost to himself, ‘I do have another appointment – very inconvenient.’

Well, if he’d said he was calling … Em thought from her coiled, extremely uncomfortable position on the floor … she’d have really made sure she was in Alnwick!

‘I’ll be phoning. And there may well be a letter to follow. Will you make sure to tell her I called, it’s a Mr Neil.’

‘Eel, yes,’ Holly mouthed as though repeating his name, which nearly made Em chuckle out loud and reveal her hiding place. ‘I will do.’ Holly held her nerve and gave another helpful smile.

Em held her breath as there seemed to be a second or two where he lurked beside the counter, then she heard footsteps retreating, and the chime of the door. As the door swung to a close, Holly announced brightly, ‘Mr Eel has called.’

Em stayed low, just in case he popped back for a second check, but she had to laugh.

‘That was far too close for comfort,’ she said to Holly. ‘Keep an eye out for a little while, he may well come back.’ And with that she crawled on hands and knees towards the back hallway, heading for the safe-zone of the kitchen. ‘We’ll need some kind of code if he does,’ she added.

‘Jellied eels?’ Holly laughed.