His phone buzzed, but it was Lily and Lucas knew that if he heard his daughter’s voice, he would weep. He waited, hoping she would leave a message, so he could hear it anyway. But she rang off, leaving nothing. Lucas trudged on towards his flat. A night alone, and already there was only one way he could think of getting through it.

35

Esther stared up at the imposing, wrought-iron gates. There were gold tips on the spikes, which matched the rim on the letterbox and the shiny plaque advertising the house number. When she approached the intercom system, a light came on from some high vantage point on the house, picking her out like an actor on a stage, accentuating the darkness of the November evening. Somewhere nearby a church clock struck six. She had parked a couple of blocks away. It had given her the opportunity to take in the luxury of the area: the elegant driveways, the huge detached houses peeking over the tops of high privet hedges, the glimpses of grand front steps. The street itself, a stone’s throw from Richmond Park, was lined with four-wheel-drive vehicles and robust trees, whose drifts of wet, dead leaves had blown against her shins and clung to the soles of her ankle boots as she walked.

Leaving the pictures strewn across the rest of the clutter on Dylan’s desk, Esther had made it to the garden centre just before closing. She had spotted Darren almost at once, fielding stray trolleys from the car park. On recognising her, he had looked a little afraid, perhaps reading the purpose in her stride.

‘How’s it going, Mrs Shaw?’

‘It’s going very well, thank you, Darren, but I need your help. About Mei Lin. Dylan’s girlfriend… ex-girlfriend.’

He had kept on clanking his trollies. ‘Like I said, Mrs S, I didn’t really—’

‘I need to know how to contact her, Darren. She’s not in any sort of trouble,’ Esther had reassured him quickly, ‘nor are you for that matter, and nor is Dylan. I also completely understand that you might not know off the top of your head, but surely there is someone you could ask? If not her phone number, then maybe where she lives?’ She’d positioned herself under one of the floodlights, blocking his route back towards the entrance. ‘I would be so grateful.’

He'd given a little shrug, tugging at the rings in his earlobes and sighing heavily as he’d pulled out his phone. ‘If you give me your number, I’ll see what I can find out.’