She continued. ‘There was this song that my dad used to play really loud after Mum had upset him, where the singer repeated the line “I’ve got six things on my mind and you’re no longer one of them” over and over again. I keep saying this line in my head as a way of blanking him out. I don’t know if it helps but it’s a nice tune anyway so why not?’

‘And have you got six things on your mind?’

‘Let me think. Well, I need somewhere to live, I need a job, I need a bath and I need a new phone. That seems to be it at the moment, so it’s four things.’

‘Well, you’re also hungry, so you need a bit of grub – that makes five – and you wanted to meet me for a drink, so let’s add booze as the sixth thing.’

I was pleased to have again confirmed, albeit obliquely, that I was one of the things on her mind. I wondered if she knew that Tommy was actively looking for her.

‘How is your boyfriend taking it?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know, to be honest. I made the move when he was out of the flat. I just left a note saying that I was leaving.’

‘How come he has your phone, then?’ I blurted out, and instantly realized I had made a big mistake. I was going to have to admit that he had visited me that afternoon.

‘How do you know that he’s got my phone?’ she asked.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you with it, you’ve got enough on your plate, but he came to my flat earlier today and he had your phone with him. From what he said and the way he was acting, I think he thought that you might be staying at my place.’

‘Why on earth would he think that? We hardly know each other. That’s ridiculous.’

‘Well, I’m assuming he checked your phone records, saw that you’d telephoned my number and used his contacts at Cityside Investigations to find out the address that went with the number.’

‘He took my phone from me on the day I left. It’s something he often does if he’s feeling vulnerable. He must have seen something in my demeanour that morning that set him off. I’m sorry you had to get involved with him. Did he threaten you or anything?’

‘No, not really. I had to promise to inform him if I found out where you were, but I would never do that of course. He was with his boss, John McCoy. Do you know him?’

‘I know who you mean – thinks he’s a bit of a gangster. What was he doing there with Tommy?’