‘I’m glad you could come. Other side of London. Babysitter and all that.’

She shook her head. ‘Actually, something’s been bothering me since I bumped into you. I lied to you and I don’t know why. Well, I do know why. My daughter . . . I told you my daughter was nine. I told you Abigail was nine. She’s not. Sometimes I just say she is . . .’ She was floundering, but she didn’t want his pity, she just wanted to explain. ‘Abigail died six years ago. She would have been nine, now.’

His face dropped. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Emma. I had no idea.’

‘Of course not. Why would you? You just kind of caught me at a moment . . . I don’t—Oh my God! Is that James Storm?!’

He looked around. ‘Yes, it is!’

A large bald man was approaching them. ‘Hey, Dougie! How goes?’

‘Jim! Look who it isn’t!’ Dougie said, putting his arm protectively around Emma’s shoulder.

‘Oh my God! No! Emma Davis!’ James said. ‘Wow! You look . . . great!’ It was the weight loss, he meant.

‘Hi, James,’ she said. ‘Actually, I was just remembering the other day a party at your dad’s house . . . we’d all finished our practice exams or something. Do you remember it?’

‘I certainly do. So does my dad: Mickey Gray puked in his bed.’

She laughed.

‘I remember that party,’ Dougie said. And she found that she couldn’t quite look at him.

‘I saw your name in the papers. You’re on that case, aren’t you?’ James was looking at her excitedly. ‘The Yummy Monster. Is that right?’

‘Yup, that’s right,’ she said.

‘Fucked up!’ he said. He was glowing.

Emma nodded. ‘Do you know, I’m pretty sick of that name . . . just because she’s white and middle-class . . . .’ There was an awkward silence and Emma felt obliged to fill it. ‘What do you do these days, James?’

‘Oh,’ he said. ‘I’m an estate agent.’

‘Fucked up!’ she said, and Dougie laughed, caught a passing waiter and handed her a glass of bubbly, a gesture befitting a partner. She took it without thanks, like a partner might.

‘I’m just going outside for a quick smoke,’ Emma said, getting out her cigarettes. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’