The day loomed ahead of her. It was tempting to ring Rivka and see if she would be free for lunch but she was afraid to… afraid she’d break down and sob at the mess her life had become.

A ping told her she had an email and she was surprised when she looked to see it was a response from the nursing home asking when she’d be free to go for an interview. Why not today? She sent off an email saying she’d be happy to attend whenever suited but that she was free the rest of the day. The reply came several minutes later.

An interview at 2pm. Something going her way.

The jacket and trousers she’d worn the previous day were too creased to wear. She did a quick search through her wardrobe, discounting most of her clothes as being too casual, finally settling on a fine-knit white jumper and beige skirt. Her tan raincoat on top and she’d look okay.

There were hours to get through first. She made her bed, unpacked the washing machine, drank copious amounts of coffee, and read a crime novel by one of her favourite writers. But even Jenny O’Brien’s latest couldn’t stop her thoughts from drifting to Flynn, to the what might have been and to the aching sense of loss.

The nursing home was about a twenty-five-minute walk away. Determined to make a good impression by arriving enthusiastically early, she pulled her raincoat on at 1.15pm, grabbed her bag and keys and opened the front door.

She’d been so lost in thoughts of Flynn, so full of gut-churning self-pity that for a while she’d put the other man who was haunting her out of her mind and was caught by surprise to find a package swinging from the doorknob. More damn shoes! Anger flared. She pulled the package from the door, flung it on the hallway floor and stepped outside.

Tension gripped Jodie, quick jerky steps taking her down the street. This time, she promised herself, this time she’d take the damn package to the police, get them to find Victor and make him stop.

In exactly twenty-five minutes, Jodie reached the nursing home. Seacrest Manor. They’d used artistic licence with the name, the sea was at least a fifteen-minute walk away but none of the nursing homes in Gravesend were foolish enough to use the town’s name in their title. She tried to put both Flynn and Victor out of her mind. It was important to make a good impression, to show the manager that she was exactly the kind of nurse he needed… despite having been fired.

To her surprise and relief, the interview went well. Her explanation regarding the medication issue and NMC investigation was accepted without more than a shake of the manager’s head and a few easily answered questions.