Patrick:I don’t know why it was made is what I’m saying. I couldn’t actually see the reason for it, but Harry was adamant he didn’t have a choice, and that was that. I felt for Laura, to tell you the truth. Anyone else wouldn’t have been able to get away with it, I don’t suppose, but Harry … (shrugs)

Marlow:What do you mean?

Patrick:Well, he still clearly wants to make sure Laura is okay. I don’t know whether that’s because he’s worried she might leave or – you know, if it’s because it’s her. It’s probably both. Harry has a soft spot for Laura, that’s all I’m saying. You’ll hear it from one of the women in the office soon enough, if you haven’t already. The rumour mill is rife, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing more to it than that.

Marlow:So what did Harry do to make sure Laura was okay?

Patrick:He promised her some new job – some new big client who was supposedly on the scene.

Marlow:And did that materialise?

Patrick:(pauses) Nothing’s been signed on the dotted line. And in my experience, you don’t put in the amount of work Laura has in the last few weeks without having anything signed. She’s been putting in more hours than anyone lately and – I don’t know – sometimes it can all be just a huge waste of your time. Anyway, as I say, Harry’s a mate, but he isn’t always …

Marlow:Always what?

Patrick:He does favours for his own, you know: the men from the directors’ clubs he’s a part of, from his London days. This new client was one of them.
     Harry’s bloody good at what he does. That’s one of the reasons I followed him down here, but sometimes – oh, I hate talking out of turn about him – I think he believes he needs to do things for certain people. Harry can’t always say no. It’s his weakness.
     Anyway, Laura might have been annoyed about the fact she’d lost one of her main accounts, but she didn’t take it out on him. She wouldn’t have started the fire.

Marlow:How can you be so certain of that?

Patrick:Laura’s not crazy. You set fire to a building and something has to be pretty wrong in the head, doesn’t it? No. She and Harry had a good relationship. Always did. She was his golden girl.

Marlow:But she must have felt put out?

Patrick:Yeah. But like I say, it didn’t seem to affect her relationship with him.

Marlow:Don’t you think that’s odd? Surely he was the one who made the decision, after all.