Money. It had never been Jo’s driving force. Perhaps she was being stupid, though. With two million, the world would be at her feet. People who looked down on her, people like Allison, who saw her stretched skin and jumped to the wrong conclusions… they’d look at her differently when she was dressed in designer clothes and roped in diamonds. Wouldn’t they? Never having mixed with those types of people, she’d no idea. But with millions, if it didn’t work out that way, she could leave, start over elsewhere. With kinder people.

The taxi chugged through congested streets, rocking her gently, calming her thoughts. It was easily done. She didn’t allow life to stress her too much. A lesson hard-learnt. Pain, she could have told anyone who’d listen, was a tough, unforgiving teacher.

The journey seemed endless, but finally the taxi pulled up outside her new, far more salubrious home. ‘I’ll have to get money from my friend,’ she said. ‘I’ll be a sec.’

The driver shrugged. ‘Clock’s ticking.’

Jo pulled the key from her back pocket and slipped it into the lock. When it turned smoothly and the door opened, she smiled in relief. She’d half expected Allison to play some trick. Get the locks changed, maybe even put a safety chain up. But although one hung from the door, she hadn’t bothered. Accepting the future so clearly laid out for her. Jo was surprised, and wary. A woman who could so coldly dispatch her husband was capable of anything.

To her surprise, she heard the beep of the house alarm. Allison hadn’t waited in to welcome her new house guest. Swallowing the dart of irritation, Jo hurried to key in the code. The most annoying part of Allison’s absence, of course, was having to pay for the taxi herself. With a sigh of frustration, Jo pulled out her purse. She had enough for the fare, nothing for a tip.

Maybe the battered suitcases the driver had set on the footpath had told him enough about her circumstances. He took the fare without comment, gave a nod of thanks and took off.

She stood with her luggage, and she looked up at the lovely house. She’d be happy living here. But then she was easily pleased. She lugged her cases inside. Leaving them in the hallway, she decided to make the most of her new landlady’s absence and have a nosey upstairs. In the main bedroom, she discovered she’d been right about the contents of the rubbish bag she’d taken from Allison’s bin. One bedside table was empty, the other filled with the tat every woman accumulates. She took out a packet of medication – the contraceptive pill. Jo wasn’t surprised. Allison didn’t strike her as the maternal type.