He gave her a plastic chip shop fork with hardened grease on it. She dragged it through tangles and knots, while reminding herself that she had only to follow some simple rules, and give these people what they wanted, and then soak up a magnificent, delicious reunion with her—

‘Hey! Snap out of it. I said put this on.’

He was holding clothing pulled from a plastic supermarket bag. Black trousers and a suit jacket. He was grinning.

‘That’s right. This is your changing room.’

So, there in the cramped back seat, with the Ball Cap bastard watching and making no attempt to pretend he wasn’t, she stripped out of her dirty clothing. But before she could drag on the trousers to cover her underwear, he plucked out a final pair of items from the bag. She knew what was coming even before she saw knickers and a bra in his hands. She wanted to protest that hers were fine, but knew these people hadn’t brought them because they wanted her fresh. So she didn’t bother. She took hers off and put on the new stuff, knickers first.

‘Hang on, let me help with that,’ he said when she tried to put the bra on. She ignored him. Once done, she quickly got into the trousers and suit jacket, which thankfully buttoned up above her bra.

Afterwards, he held up a pair of shoes. But he only gave her one; the second he insisted on putting on himself. She put her eyes out the window as he slipped it on to her foot. He patted her instep when it was done.

Next he reached over the passenger seat and ripped the sun visor right off the roof, which made Dominic swear. He turned his head, angry, and she got another look at the necklace he wore. She wanted to tear his eyes, oh so in range of her nails, right out of his head.

The sun visor, which had a mirror, got dumped in her lap along with a few make-up items.

‘I’ll help with the lipstick,’ he said.

And he did.

‘Now sit back and relax,’ he said afterwards. ‘We’ve got twenty minutes until 9 a.m.’

‘What?’ she snapped. ‘We waited all night because of that? It’s a twenty-four-hour establishment, you damn idiots.’

She’d blurted the insult in anger, because this error had kept her away from Josie for hours, but now fear flooded in as she worried about repercussions. But both men just looked at her. Ball Cap punched the back of the seat, just inches from her. ‘Why didn’t you know that?’ he asked his pal. ‘We just sat here all night.’

‘So go now,’ Dominic said, turning back to his paper.