Jack shovels a handful of crisps into his mouth and I take a deep breath. I need to get this off my chest. ‘Yes. It was immoral. I know that now. A teenage girl was found dead after overdosing on drugs. She was missing for a few months before that, and during that time we – we hacked her phone, as well as her stepdad’s.’

He takes a sharp breath, nearly choking on the crisps. ‘I had an inkling that’s what you were going to say. But were you arrested?’

‘No. My news editor was. The buck stopped with him. But …’ I blink back tears ‘… I was involved. So was my colleague, Mark. We shouldn’t have done it. We knew it was wrong, but we were running on adrenalin. It was a big case. A missing teenage girl. We all assumed her stepdad might have had something to do with it. Things had become shady. The boundaries were unclear. I was sacked, along with Mark and a few others, including my editor. We were so desperate for the story. We thought if we hacked their phones we’d find out something incriminating about the stepdad … It was stupid. Reckless.’

Jack swallows. ‘Shit, Jess. Does Ted know?’

I nod and shuffle in my seat. I pick up a crisp but don’t eat it, just hold it uselessly. ‘Yes. I had to be honest with him. He would have found out anyway. But he took me on, providing I kept on the right side of the law, of course. He gave me a second chance and I’m so grateful for that. Oh, God, Jack, it was just horrible. The worst. The embarrassment. The fear I’d be arrested. Charged. Prison, even. The trial is still hanging over my editor and others … Well, you’ll have read about it, no doubt. I felt so guilty – I still feel guilty, especially towards the girl’s family.’

Jack exhales through his nose. Then, ‘What does Rory think?’

This is the bit I’m most ashamed of. ‘I never told him. Not about me. He knows my editor was arrested and charged but that’s it.’

Jack’s eyes are round with shock. ‘What? How could he not know?’

I put down the crisp, feeling sick. ‘He wouldn’t have a clue what goes on. He’s not a part of this murky world, thank God. And I wasn’t charged. I told him they had to get rid of me because of cutbacks.’

He groans. ‘You lied? Oh, Jess.’

I close my eyes. I have a headache coming on. ‘I know,’ I mumble, massaging my temples. ‘Rory thinks the best of me. I suppose I didn’t want to disappoint him by admitting I was also involved.’

I open my eyes. Jack reaches across the table and takes my hand. He doesn’t say anything – he doesn’t have to – just squeezes my fingers gently.