‘Hey, don’t be so glum. You know you’re a great photographer but it’s a hard market, you know that,’ said Ria, not saying anything they hadn’t already said over the past few years. Ria gave Steph a sympathetic smile and then struck a cheerier note. ‘And there’s the bonus that you’ll be back on your old stomping ground.’

‘I’m not sure I’d describe that as a bonus.’

‘You might be able to spend a bit of time with your mum, now that she’s retired.’

Steph appreciated the delicacy with which her friend spoke the words. The relationship between Steph and her mum was difficult at the best of times, so she wasn’t entirely sure spending time together was on the agenda.

‘How is your mum enjoying her retirement?’

Steph could hear the genuine concern in Ria’s voice. ‘Hard to say, if I’m honest. She says in the end she hated working for the police, especially CID when she was promoted to DCI. There was so much paperwork and red tape that went along with the job, it just wasn’t her thing.’

‘It’s a shame she feels like that. It should be something she looks back on with pride and affection.’

‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you? She was more married to the job than she was to my dad.’

‘Did she ever encourage you to join?’ Ria picked up the cups and took them over to the sink.

‘God, no. Besides, I didn’t want to be overshadowed by the wonderful DCI Wendy Lynch. The one who was awarded a bravery medal, the one who cracked a child-trafficking ring, the one who went deep under cover and nearly paid for it with her life.’ Steph shook her head. ‘No, thank you.’

‘Instead you opted for a career with no security, one that’s full of uncertainty.’

Steph opened the Twitter app on her phone. ‘If I can create a bit of a buzz about my new assignment, get the word out about the photography too, I might get some more work. I’m going to tweet it as well as putting it on Instagram and Facebook.’

‘Good idea. I’ll retweet it and share it, of course.’

Steph read the tweet aloud as she typed. ‘Long weekend in Lake District to review Conmere Resort Centre. Can’t wait! #Conmere #Sinclairfamily #freelance.’

‘You need to word it so there is some sort of interaction,’ pointed out Ria. ‘Ask people to recommend places, then maybe you can approach those places for some promo work.’

‘Excellent idea,’ said Steph as she reworded her tweet before posting it.

‘Look, I need to get back to work. I’ve got an American coming in looking for something special for his apartment,’ said Ria, rinsing the cups and drying her hands. ‘Don’t forget it’s Gareth’s birthday meal a week on Friday. Eight o’clock. My house.’