‘But … so how did you … how did you end up in the same place as Rick? On this ship?’ I ask. ‘Isn’t that a … bit of a coincidence?’ I still can’t quite believe that they can be the same person. Surely Lola’s got this wrong?

‘Jesse, for fuck’s sake, of course it’s not a coincidence!’ she screams. Tears are streaming down her face. ‘I followed him here. It only took a bit of digging to find him on social media once I’d remembered his name and learned about the Internet, and that was that. All the stuff I told you years back about wanting to go travelling, well, it was true to a degree, but the main reason for joining the ships was that I’d found out where he was working by then and wanted to get my revenge.’

‘But why didn’t you tell me?’ I ask. ‘And how did he not recognize you?’

‘Look at me, Jesse!’ she yells. ‘I’m a grown woman, not the innocent child I was when he knew me. I’ve lost at least two stone since I ran away, cut my hair, dyed it several times, had this, this and this’ – she points at her boobs, nose and teeth – ‘done, plus we only actually ever met a few times! Usually in the dark, and pretty much all we ever did was shag. He didn’t give a shit about me, there’s no way he’d have recognized me or possibly even remembered me, for all I know. It made me feel sick to be close to him and to let him touch me before I killed him, but it was nothing he hadn’t done before and it’s not like I’m exactly fussy about who I go with anyway thanks to how he used me back then, it’s just sex after all, and it was worth it as a means to an end …’

She is sobbing so hard now I can barely hear what she’s saying. I give her a hug. She is trembling. ‘But I still don’t understand why you didn’t ask me to help you?’ I say softly. ‘Or why you went through the whole thing of—’