Their first task was to put up the curtains in the bedroom. That morning, they had been woken up at five a.m. by the blazing sunlight that filled the room. With last night’s alcohol still circulating through their veins, they had both winced and groaned and tried to hide under the quilt. It was no good, though. They couldn’t sleep, and Jamie had pulled on his jockey shorts and padded into the kitchen to make coffee. There was a strange man asleep on the floor, dressed as a cowboy with his stetson over his face. He opened one eye, said, ‘Morning,’ then got up and let himself out. Then, while most of their new neighbours slept, Jamie and Kirsty cleared up the mess from the night before.

‘I’ll put the hooks up and then you can hang them,’ said Kirsty. ‘You order the pizza while I make a start.’

Jamie phoned the pizza place, then fetched the iPod dock, finding an acoustic playlist.

As he was attaching the curtains to the rail, standing on a wobbly chair with Kirsty holding onto his leg, there was a knock on the door.

Kirsty raised her eyebrows. ‘That was quick.’

Jamie clambered down from the chair. ‘That was the inner door, so unless someone left the front door open it can’t be the pizza guy.’

He opened the door to the flat and found himself looking at a large man with a crew cut. As Jamie had expected, the man wasn’t holding a pizza.

‘Hello. Can I help you?’

The man looked him up and down, then said in a quiet voice that clashed with his bulky physique, ‘I’m Chris Newton. I live…’

‘Downstairs! Hi.’ Jamie stuck out his hand. ‘I met your wife earlier. Are you feeling better now?’

‘Oh, yes. I’m fine. I thought it would be a good idea to come up and introduce myself.’

Kirsty came up behind Jamie and looked over his shoulder.

Chris smiled at her. ‘You must be…’

‘Kirsty. Pleased to meet you.’

‘And you.’

There was an awkward silence, during which Jamie quickly appraised Chris in his mind. He was very fit and muscular. He looked a little like a nightclub bouncer or a security guard. But there was a gleam in his eyes that spoke of a sharp intelligence. Jamie also noticed that Chris was carrying a bunch of keys in his left hand; he clearly had a key to the front door. Jamie wasn’t worried by this. The four sets of neighbours paid service charges for the upkeep of the whole building, and therefore they all had every right to access the halls and stairways that they shared. They were equally responsible for keeping the building clean and in good condition.

‘I noticed the front door was sticking a bit and squeaking nastily,’ Chris said, as if reading Jamie’s mind. ‘I might have a look at it over the weekend.’

‘OK.’