She’d drifted off a while, lying on the bed. The wine had helped to calm her down but the sick feeling in her stomach had got worse, if anything.

She sat up abruptly at the sound of a voice at the bottom of the stairs and baulked at the sting of reflux at the back of her throat.

‘Goodbye, Holly,’ David called up.

She sprang up off the bed and rushed to the door, calling to him far too brightly.

‘Bye, David! Let me know about the cinema times.’

Sometimes he irritated her. He was odd – everybody thought so – and she still hadn’t got to the bottom of what had happened to him, or indeed what was behind Nick Brown’s rather vague warning.

But, as she’d discovered all those years ago at school with Markus, outsiders usually found and understood each other.

David had an air about him that tempted her to put her trust in him, in a similar way that she had trusted Markus in the early days.

Was it really too much to think that she might be able to confide in him about her fears?

A sinking feeling inside told her it would be a bit like letting the genie out of the bottle. If she told him she was afraid someone had tracked her down, she’d be forced to tell him why someone might be looking for her.

And David was probably clueless enough to mention it to Cora.

She was trapped by her own secrets.

Still, it seemed like the best plan, even though she had another one simmering on the back burner. A contingency plan of sorts.

David seemed dependable, and she didn’t really have that much choice in terms of finding someone trustworthy enough to talk to.

If she took things steady and didn’t rush, he could prove to be a very useful friend indeed.

---

Holly had always been a low-energy person, but after six weeks at Geraldine and Brendan’s, she barely recognised herself.

She’d adopted Geraldine’s suggested schedule of gym training and swimming, utilising their basement fitness suite. She’d also, for the last week, been getting up an hour earlier than her usual seven-thirty daily rise and taking a twenty-minute run around the grounds.

She had dropped twenty pounds in weight. The puppy fat had melted away, her skin was clearer, her hair glossier, and she felt great.

‘It’s all thanks to you,’ she’d told Geraldine as they enjoyed a fruit and vitamin juice breakfast on the patio.

‘You’re the one who’s done all the work,’ Geraldine had said generously, but Holly knew the routine too well to be fooled.

‘But I’d never have thought of embarking on a fitness routine unless you’d suggested it,’ she’d said dutifully. ‘You’ve changed my life, Geraldine. Thank you.’

‘Oh sweetie, stop.’ Geraldine’s face had glowed with something that resembled satisfaction more than humility. ‘I just gave you a little encouragement is all. It’s important to me that you be the best you can be. And I do care about you, I hope you know that.’

‘It’s really nice of you to say so.’ Holly had smiled and touched Geraldine’s hand. ‘But I really am so grateful.’

It was true that Holly had to play the game, letting Geraldine get her own way and saying the right things all the time, but was it really such a high price to pay?

Everyone had complaints about their work, stuff that got on their nerves, stuff they wished they didn’t have to do. Like working a twelve-hour shift on a boring production line, getting up at five in the morning for a two-hour commute, working August bank holiday weekend in a stifling, overcrowded call centre.

In Holly’s opinion, these would have been things to complain about.

Complimenting Geraldine, ordering healthy food off the menu, following workout advice and shifting a bit of weight… these were duties that Holly felt able to fulfil.

Geraldine had talked a bit about her own past and had confided guiltily in Holly that she had come from a privileged background. She’d never been short of money or affection as a child or an adult; had gone from Daddy taking care of her to Brendan providing a very nice life.

Yes, Geraldine had been spoiled. Yes, she often complained relentlessly about things like running out of her favourite yoghurts, or Patricia not toasting her breakfast bagel quite long enough.

But Holly had believed her when she’d said she cared about her.