Liv fidgeted in her seat, already regretting her frankness. An electronic blast of “Paperback Writer” by The Beatles sounded from her phone, vibrating loudly between her backside and the chair.

Essie’s neck stiffened like a cobra. “You should answer that.”

“Yes, sorry.” Liv tugged the phone out of her pocket and saw Jake was calling. She tucked her chin into her neck. “Hi, yes I’m still at work,” she whispered. “I’ll be half an hour or so... Okay, I hadn’t forgotten... Bye.” Liv turned off her phone. “Sorry, my son’s bringing a new girlfriend home and I said I’d make a cake for tea. I’ll get one from Aldi instead.”

“Really? I do recommend Bentley and White. Their patisserie is divine.”

“Oh? Thanks.” Liv had no intention of visiting the extortionately priced shop. “The window displays are gorgeous.”

An awkward silence fell between them.

Liv had an urge to apologize, but Essie waved her hand. “That is all,” she said.

Liv’s legs shook as she left the room. Thank goodness she still had her job, at least for the moment. She took a few minutes to gather together her cloths and cleaning solutions, then tugged the vacuum cleaner back into the store cupboard. When she’d finished, she pulled on her scuffed yellow Converse. “Have a good evening,” she shouted out to Essie.

Strangely, the writing door was wide-open. There was no reply.

Liv padded toward it to say goodbye properly, but Essie’s chair was vacant and pushed up to her desk.

“Essie,” she called out, frowning as she moved from room to room. She wanted to feel the air was clear between them before she left for the weekend. However, all the rooms were unoccupied. The author was nowhere to be seen.

“Essie?” Liv whispered, as she pirouetted alone in the empty writing room. “Where the hell are you?”

But it was no use. The author was gone.

2

CAKE IN THE BATH

Liv hurriedly bought a cake from Aldi and listened to the end of Few and Far Between as she jogged across the city, but her mind was firmly set on Essie. The author had pulled that vanishing trick a few times before. One minute she sat in her writing room scribbling away, and the next she disappeared like a rabbit from a magician’s hat. It was at odds with her reclusive behavior, and Liv wondered if she went to visit a neighbor or run an errand. She felt like it wasn’t her place to ask.

By the time she reached home her knuckles glowed cherry red from carrying the cake in the chilly late April weather. Liv inhaled a few last seconds of calm before opening her front door.