Liv had heard enough and finished her smoothie. She wanted to get back to the peace and solitude of the apartment and think what to do next.

Matilda glanced at Liv. “Medusa had the world at her feet and messed it up. Sure, readers still love her books, but somewhere things went very wrong for her.”

But why? Liv thought, agreeing with Matilda for the first time today. She felt something akin to frost creeping across her skin. Just what had happened to Essie ten years ago?

“Take a look at her last interview, for the Book Ahead Blog, and see what you’re dealing with,” Matilda said. “So bitter.”

“I thought she refused to do them.”

“Book Ahead are big influencers and her publisher insisted on it. Essie made sure they don’t make the same mistake twice.” Matilda took a pink lipstick from her purse and wound it up. “Right, gotta go. I’ve got a Zoom to prep for.”

Liv didn’t bother much with social media. She had no interest in uploading photos of her morning muesli, or her bare ankles on a sun lounger. She used a dictionary more often than she googled, but now she wondered what other information was out there. It might give her a clue why Essie vanished ten years ago. “Thanks for meeting me,” she said and stood up.

“Good luck, you’ll need it. And don’t forget my reference.”

Liv carried their empty glasses back to the juice bar counter.

The man serving raised his eyebrow. “You’re the first person to do that,” he said. “I usually have to collect them myself.”

Liv could well imagine. She might not share Matilda’s experience, but surely being polite, hardworking and resourceful were a good start. She headed back toward the spiral staircase.

“Take the slide, it’s quicker,” the man called after her.

When she reached the turquoise plastic, Liv lugged her bag across her body and sat down with her legs outstretched. After pushing off, she laughed as she whooshed down and jumped off the end.

Matilda stared down from above and shook her head.

Liv waved, smoothed down her T-shirt and strode toward the front door.

Later that afternoon, when she arrived back at Essie’s apartment, she sat at the writing desk and reluctantly typed out a reference on Essie’s headed notepaper.

I, Essie Starling, am writing this letter as a personal reference for Matilda Hennessy. She is a most excellent worker and I recommend her wholeheartedly...

Liv sat back and read what she’d written. Pretending to be the author hadn’t been as difficult as she’d thought. Reaching down, she adjusted the height of the chair and repositioned the backrest so she felt more comfortable. If she could channel even more of her inner Georgia, perhaps she could do this after all.

She searched online for the blog Matilda mentioned, to look for clues about where things went wrong for Essie.