When Anita was in the middle of an anecdote, hands flying and voice swooping to give the story its best telling, Paula noticed the way Rohan looked at her. Attentive, delighting in her energy, enjoying Anita being the centre of attention, besotted by her. That was how Paula and Remy used to look at each other.

She recalled how Matt hated Stacey being the centre of attention. That had always been incomprehensible to Paula—why would you fall for a woman as vivacious and magnetic as Stacey if you didn’t appreciate her being that person? In Matt’s mind, when Stacey was shining bright at some social occasion, she was ‘winning’ the moment in a way that was a defeat for him, as if there was a scorecard in the sky and every social point Stacey earned cost him a point. He would chip at her, ridicule her, petulant. Sometimes Stacey could handle him, cajoling him back into a sociable mood, and other times she would make an excuse for them to leave.

At one point during that first dinner with Rohan and Anita, Paula was aware of Rohan Mehta looking at her intently. She felt a sting of fear—maybe, as a police detective, he could somehow intuit that she was guilty of murder—but with a moment of calm breathing, she assured herself that was irrational. Ian Ferguson’s death was not considered a murder. It wasn’t even a subject of investigation or any scrutiny. If Rohan was trying to read anything in her, he was probably looking for clues to whether he’d passed the test as Anita’s new boyfriend. Paula decided to cover her moment of unease by mentioning the subject that was there at the table with the three of them, unspoken.

‘Rohan, can I ask where are things at with the inquest about Stacey and the children?’ she asked.

Anita froze, her gaze darting between the two of them. But she need not have worried. Rohan handled the question with grace, explaining the process, the timeline, what would be required of Paula. He didn’t only answer her procedural questions. He also spoke about how distressing he’d found Stacey’s case at a personal level and how keenly he appreciated the loss her friends must be feeling. He spoke with delicacy and without pulling focus onto himself in an egotistical or condescending way.

Paula decided Rohan Mehta was a properly grown-up man with a good heart. She was glad Anita had found him, whatever the context.

The next morning, Dr Kaczmarek’s first appointment was booked in as a ‘long consultation’ and she smiled when she saw the name of the patient.