A few minutes later, she hung them in the space she’d made in the wardrobe, running her hands along the sleeves. She didn’t recognise the make but she knew quality when she saw and felt it, and these were quality. Flynn was a man with expensive taste. He was probably more used to going out with glamorous, successful women. Not a woman who’d been fired or who was being stalked by a rapist. That she’d done nothing wrong in either case didn’t make her situation easier to accept or make it all any the less frustrating.

She closed the wardrobe door and, satisfied that the holdall was empty, she zipped it shut and pushed it under the bed.

The ring of the doorbell brought her head up with a jerk. Flynn!

Her feet barely touched the ground as she dashed down the stairs and grabbed the doorknob, grinning in excitement. But before she could twist the knob to open the door, the grin faded, replaced by a sad smile of self-awareness. She was looking on Flynn as her saviour. What a burden to put on him, to put on their relationship. She needed to get a grip.

The doorbell rang again.

Jodie took a calming breath, turned the knob, and pulled the door open. ‘Hi.’

‘Hi, so sorry I didn’t have a chance to ring earlier,’ Flynn said, stepping inside and planting a kiss on her lips. ‘It’s been one of those days.’ He lifted a plastic carrier bag. ‘I stopped and got a bottle of wine, thought you might be in need of a glass or two.’

‘Or three or four.’ She laughed, taking the bag and heading into the kitchen. ‘I bought wine and beer too. I had planned to cook dinner but the idea faded pretty quickly. I thought we might get a takeaway.’

‘Suits me fine.’ He took his jacket off and loosened his tie. ‘Right, tell me how it went.’

Jodie opened the red wine he’d brought and poured them both a glass. ‘Sit, I’ll tell you everything, not that there’s much to tell.’ When she’d finished, she sat back and took a gulp of her wine. ‘My friend Rivka came around this afternoon.’ Jodie took another drink of her wine before she continued, keeping her eyes fixed on her glass as she told him an edited version of what her friend had said. ‘She suggested that it was a random stranger who came into the home and left the tablets there to cause trouble.’

‘But why?’ Flynn lifted his hands. ‘No, don’t answer that, why does any idiot do the things they do? Maybe it was someone with a grudge against the home and you happened to get caught up in it.’

‘It’s as good a reason as any.’

‘You’re going to put that theory to your union rep?’