‘Hello, darlin’. Am I pleased to see you!’ He took her purse off the table and removed a five-pound note from it.

‘What do you want? Coffee?’

Donna nodded and watched him as he purchased two coffees, five Mars bars and one KitKat. The KitKat, she knew already, was for her.

As he sat down once more and gave her the change, looking for all the world like a little boy, she felt a pang of sorrow for him.

‘So what’s been happening, Donna? How’s everything?’

She took a deep breath and said calmly, much more calmly than she felt, ‘Someone trashed the car lot last night. All the cars on the front were destroyed.’

She watched the incredulity on her husband’s face and forced herself to carry on.

‘The police think it was vandals, out in a large Range-Rover with nothing else to do. I don’t think so myself.’

Georgio sipped his coffee, to give himself time to sort out in his mind what his wife was saying.

‘I hope you’ll have some answers for me today, Georgio, because I really feel that after last night, you owe me an explanation.’

He wiped his hand over his face in agitation.

‘Look, love, you had better tell me what happened last night, from the beginning.’

It was Donna’s turn now to sip at her coffee. She swallowed the bitter liquid, shuddering inwardly at what she was about to do. In nearly twenty years of marriage she had never once questioned her husband about anything; she had never questioned where their money went, what he did with it, how the credit cards were paid. She bought clothes as and when she wanted them; her American Express card was like her third hand, always there no matter what. She had never even had to take money out of the bank because there was always ample cash in the small safe in Georgio’s office. Their bills were paid by standing order, she had never had to balance a cheque book, ask for a statement, or even think about money at all, except when she was spending it.

Now, she had to confront her husband not only about money, but about many other things she had been unaware of for years. She wished fervently that she was still unaware of them. This was the hardest thing she had ever had to do, mainly because Georgio was now a captive audience, being forced into listening to her talk about something they would never normally discuss. She felt the sensation of being in charge once more, being the one in control, and all because she could walk out of this prison and he couldn’t.

‘Last night the car lot was destroyed - at least, the cars were destroyed,’ she began. ‘When you were first sentenced, I took an interest in your businesses. The car lot, and the sites, were all hopelessly under-insured.’ Her voice faltered as she saw Georgio’s face harden. She cleared her throat before continuing, telling herself that this was her husband, not a stranger she was talking to. This was the man she had slept with, loved and partnered for a long time. She had no need to be frightened of him, yet she knew that for some unaccountable reason she was.