In the sitting room, there were half a dozen crushed beer cans on the coffee table and dirty clothes slung over the backs of chairs; it didn’t look as though he’d been entertaining any women there. She made her way to his study and scanned the room. The plastic bag she’d filled with her father’s papers was sitting on his desk, but she couldn’t see anything unusual that looked as though it could have come from her father’s safe deposit box. She opened each of the desk drawers in turn, then checked inside Tony’s briefcase, but it was difficult when she didn’t know what she was looking for.

Suddenly there was a noise at the front door. Val ducked down at the side of the desk, making herself as small as possible so she couldn’t be seen from the hall. There was a rattle, then a dull thud. It took several seconds before she processed the noises and realized it was the postman delivering the mail. She clutched her face in her hands and breathed deeply before standing up again. It was imperative she get out of there as soon as possible. She couldn’t afford to spend any more time searching.

At the back of the usual drawer she found Tony’s checkbook and tore a single check from near the end of the book, where its absence wouldn’t be noted straightaway. She slid it into her handbag, closed the drawer, had a last look around to check everything was just as it had been, then hurried back to the laundry room. After squeezing out through the window onto the grass, which badly needed cutting, she retrieved a tube of glue from her handbag, dotted it around the edges of the insect screen, and carefully pulled it back into position, smoothing the corners. It would take a miracle for Tony to notice the difference.

Twenty minutes later, she was at Peggy’s house accepting another cup of coffee. She could have used a slug of whisky to calm her nerves but knew it would only give her a headache later. Nicole and Lenny were charging around the house in a boisterous game of cowboys and Indians, complete with whooping and pretend gunfire.

* * *

After taking Nicole to school on Monday morning, Val swung into action. First she went to the bank in Croydon Park, where all the tellers knew her. Vonny, the one with curly red hair, was free, so Val waved and hurried over.

“Tony’s only done it again.” She smiled. “He forgot to get the housekeeping money on Friday and he’s off on a business trip all week, so he wrote me a check for cash.” She handed it over. “How was your weekend, Vonny? Lovely weather. Can’t believe it’s May already.”