And then Edward was there. Offering a hug which Rhona declined.

‘Rhona, it’s so good to see you.’

‘Why are you here?’ Rhona responded. ‘At a university forensic event?’

Edward’s white smile grew wider. ‘We’re about to become a sponsor for the Diploma in Forensic Medical Science programme. Isn’t that fabulous?’

Rhona could think of many words to describe such a link, but fabulous wasn’t one of them, so she remained silent.

Edward’s studied look moved from Rhona to Richie and back again. He held out his hand. ‘Edward Stewart. Rhona and I go way back.’

Richie gave Edward the ghost of a smile. ‘Dr Walker, forensic pathologist.’

At this point the gong sounded for dinner, which Rhona immediately saw as an escape route.

‘We’d better go in before the rush,’ she suggested, keen now to escape Edward.

‘No rush,’ Edward informed her. ‘I spotted earlier that we’re on the same table.’

Rhona swore silently at this, utilizing an internal string of expletives Chrissy would have been proud of. Their own seating plan scotched, she turned to give Richie an apologetic look, only to discover he’d already headed through the archway and into the dining hall.

‘Shall we?’ Edward offered Rhona his arm, which she pointedly ignored. With that symbol of ownership denied him, Edward made an attempt to usher her onward by placing his hand on the small of her back. Rhona quickly sidestepped this and indicated he should go first.

On arrival at their table, they discovered Richie already there.

‘Isn’t this good?’ he said. ‘I’m next to you both.’

He might have said ‘between you both’, which would have been the truth. Edward, Rhona noted, was definitely nonplussed by this sudden demolition of his plans (no doubt he’d already been riffling with the seat placements). However, he quickly regained his composure and, being Edward, immediately said, ‘There was something I wanted to chat to Rhona about, so perhaps I might sit next to her for a bit?’

And so they sat down, Rhona casting a grateful glance at Richie for trying.

The hall became a babble of movement and noise as the crowd took their seats, including the other three people at their table. As the introductions began, Rhona was already planning her escape from both the table and, even better, the event.

Her best bet, she decided, was the arrival of a call-out to an imaginary crime scene. If Richie played along, she might be able to rescue him too. Even as she planned this, she realized she was nonetheless curious as to what Edward wanted to say to her.

They hadn’t been in contact for some time, although she was aware that he and Fiona were still together and that Jonathan, their son, was at art school. Jonathan was nothing like his father. Rhona knew this because she and Jonathan had been to hell and back together.

She would always wish Jonathan well. His sister, Morag, however, she feared was a perfect combination of both her parents.