Out of the blue, I had received a call from Maryam, Reggie’s girlfriend. I was surprised to hear from her as, in spite of Luc passing on my details, she hadn’t been in touch since we met at Reggie’s funeral. I had thought that perhaps she was trying to move on with her life and put it all behind her.

I was pleased that she had contacted me, as I still really missed Reggie. Although we hadn’t been in close contact since I had moved to Avoncote, losing such a good friend had left a huge void. Being able to talk to someone who knew her well helped me feel as if there was still a connection there, somehow. Originally, I had thought she could come to Avoncote, but Maryam had invited me over to her new flat in the city centre for lunch. I loved our cottage, but having been stuck at home for so long, I was grateful for the opportunity of a change of scenery.

‘I have something for you; a keepsake,’ she told me over the phone. ‘Something that belonged to Reggie.’

We arranged to meet up the following Wednesday, and I was looking forward to seeing her again. I hadn’t had the chance to speak to her much at the funeral, and I was interested to hear her opinion of Akhmad and all that had happened in the weeks leading up to Reggie’s death. I also wondered whether any further light had been shed on what had actually happened to make Reggie fall as she did. It was all so odd.

It was a pleasantly warm April morning. I had intended to take Elodie along with me to see Maryam, but she was teething and had been grizzling constantly since the previous night. I wondered if I should rearrange, but worried that it was short notice.

I had given Elodie some Calpol and rubbed teething gel into her gums, and, still sobbing intermittently, she had finally fallen asleep in her pram. Mrs Barley was pottering in her garden as I went to peg out the washing.

‘Lovely morning,’ she said brightly. ‘How’s the little one today? I keep hearing a lot of wailing.’

‘She’s miserable, poor little thing. It seems to be taking forever for those teeth to come through and it’s wearing Jack and me down, to be honest. We were up half the night with her again. I was supposed to be having lunch with a friend today, but I think I’ll have to cancel.’

‘Well, that would be a shame. You don’t get out much. Why don’t you leave her with me? It would give you a bit of a break.’

‘That’s very kind, but it wouldn’t be fair on you. It’s hard work when they keep crying all the time.’

‘Nonsense. I can cope for a few hours – I’ve nothing else to do.’