‘Oh dear,’ said Grace. ‘But Johnny’s smart, no one puts anything over him.’ She thought for a minute. ‘Hey, I wonder if that’s the real reason Lawrence has come here. He’s heard, or figured out, who I’m working for, and he knows Johnny’s a big fish.’

‘Yes, you may be right. Listen, Gracie, stop worrying about wretched Lawrence. Go do your job. That’s more important. He’s like the bad smell from the drains here . . . hangs around all the time. Ignore him.’

‘I wish I could. I just hope this isn’t going to be the pattern of my life. I don’t feel I can ever threaten him or successfully get my lawyer to force him to butt out. Daisy is in the middle, so she’ll always tie me to him.’

‘He can have his time with her, and the rest of the time he should stay away. That needs to be a binding legal arrangement,’ said Tina firmly.

‘Y’know what, Mum? What I’m learning is that Lawrence will never make a clean break and move on. His mission in life is to make mine as miserable as possible. And I think it’s inevitable that Daisy will get caught in the crossfire.’

‘You don’t think he’ll find a girlfriend? Maybe one with kids? That might change things,’ said Tina.

‘Maybe.’ Grace tried to smile. She knew her mother was trying to soothe her. ‘Okay. I’m going to get dressed and meet Steve to plan today’s shoot. I might try to get some info out of Johnny, too. He sent a text to say he wants us to go to Ubud for some big art auction.’

‘Are the boys going to film it?’

‘I have to find out what it’s about. I have a meeting with Johnny later this morning. Are you okay with going to Daisy’s school?’

‘Yes, no problem. And if Lawrence shows up, I’ll just take him with us.’

‘Oh, Mum, you’re an angel. Let’s hope he steers clear, but if he does come, try not to let him interfere, or make any changes to what I’ve arranged.’

‘He’s entitled to see her school, I guess. He said something yesterday about wanting to take her somewhere this afternoon, too. Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on them.’

Grace headed to her bedroom to dress, but the conversation stayed with her. The freedom she’d felt in her first few weeks in Bali was gone. She felt like she was suffocating, the walls closing in on her.

‘Damn you, Lawrence,’ she muttered.

Very early, a pounding on the door jolted me out of my sleep. Dazed and frightened, I called out, ‘Who is there?’

‘Open the door,’ shouted a man’s impatient voice. ‘The Kempetai.’