Patrick:(nods) Yes. You could see it was going to come to a head at some point. It was one as much as the other by then – they were both worked up. I suppose it’s inevitable, when you mix office politics with alcohol, that something’s going to kick off. I’m not sure if Harry’s party came at the right time or the wrong one.

Marlow:Did you hear the argument between Mia Anderson and Laura Denning?

Patrick:Yes. Well, I overheard the start of it, before Mia walked off across the lawn and Laura stormed after her. That part I just watched with horror. They were standing precariously close to the swimming pool, and I knew someone was going to end up in it.

Marlow:What did you overhear?

Patrick:Laura yelling at Mia that she knew what she had done.

Marlow:Where were you, at this point?

Patrick:I was heading down to Harry’s summer house for a cigarette. The party had spread out a bit, but there weren’t many people down the end of the garden. It was a chance to get a bit of peace from my staff either asking me when they were getting a pay rise or telling me they didn’t agree with this, that or whatever else I’d said lately. It always happens on a night out, doesn’t it? Like they believe it’s the right time to tell the boss what they think, simply because they’ve had one too many glasses of champagne.

Marlow:And where were Mia and Laura?

Patrick:Already down there, though I didn’t see them at first, I just heard the shouting.

Marlow:And did Laura say what it was that Mia had done.

Patrick:She said – and I can pretty much quote this bit – ‘I’ve spoken to Tess, Mia. I know how you managed to get your hands on my job.’ She meant Tess Wills, the marketing director at Coopers.

Marlow:And then?

Patrick:And then Laura said, ‘I know you’re lying.’
     I wanted to go and check she was okay, but at the same time I didn’t know whether to interfere.

Marlow:Did Laura say what Mia had lied about?

Patrick:No.

Marlow:So what happened after that?

Patrick:Mia told her to get away from her. She kept saying, ‘You’re drunk, Laura. I think it’s time you called yourself a taxi.’
     In hindsight, it would have been better if she had called a taxi, of course. But that was a whole other nightmare.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Two weeks before the fire