“I’m already on it. What a sweetheart she is. She was telling me that cute dog of hers—”

“I don’t have time for a cosy chat right now,” he snapped, making me blink in surprise. “Just have it sent over to me when I get back. Please.”

Good grief. What was the matter with him this morning? He had been a little prickly and distracted recently, but in the two years I had worked here at my local paper, The Silver Ness News, I had never known Doug to be like this.

There was an awkward silence as he banged out.

Frances pulled a face. “Oooh! Somebody didn’t have their Weetabix this morning,” she whispered, once he had gone.

I fiddled with my pen. “Something’s bothering him.” I shot her a look. “Actually, have you noticed Doug hasn’t been himself the last few weeks?”

“Maybe a bit,” she conceded. “But I just put it down to him and Cheryl having a few problems.”

“Are they?”

Over Frances’s shoulder and out of one of the bevelled office windows, Silver Ness beach looked like one giant, golden smile in the hazy October sunshine.

She hesitated.

“Spill, Sherlock. You look like you want to say something.”

Frances bit the inside of her lip. “Haven’t you noticed the long days he’s been putting in here recently? Staying behind well after we’ve headed home?”

I considered what she was saying. Sure enough, he had still been stationed at his desk well after clocking-off during the past few weeks, his head buried in his screen. “So, you think Doug is having issues at home?”

“It all points that way.”

I thought again about Doug barging out of the office. “Do you think we should have a word with him when he gets back? Let him know we’re around for him, if he needs to talk?”

Frances nodded her shiny black hair. “You know Doug isn’t into all that touchy-feely stuff, but it’s a nice gesture.”

I flipped open my reporter’s notebook and began to rattle off the introduction to my message-in-a-bottle story. At least we could let Doug know we were there to help.

It was my turn to go and get lunch from the seafront deli.

I studied the array of cold meats and cheeses through the panoramic window and let out a frustrated sigh. I didn’t know what I wanted. I experienced this dilemma every day of the week, mind you, such was the delicious array of fillings that were always available.

I had worked for The Silver Ness News as a junior reporter for two years now and I loved it.