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‘What?’
    Lorna wasn’t surprised when there followed two or three seconds without reply. She could picture Victoria, alone, at a table or standing in a corridor, cigarette in one hand, mobile in the other, smelling of cosmetics and letting a languid smile settle on her lips before even thinking about opening them to speak.
    Victoria’s voice was mellow. ‘I’d love to take a vacation in your brain – just empty space and the luxury of being the centre of the universe for two whole weeks.’
    Lorna didn’t rise to it, and pitched her reply mid-distance between matter of fact and uninterested. ‘What do you want?’
    ‘An answer.’
    This was the conversation she knew she already needed to have with Victoria, and despite avoiding her for a week or more, she felt relieved it was finally here. ‘I’m not leaving.’
    That was easy.
    ‘Then I’ll speak to Richard.’
    ‘That’s fine, because I’ve told him everything.’ Lorna put a chirpy note into her voice, hoping it might hide the bluff.
    ‘Even about your latest plan? I doubt it somehow.’
    Lorna frowned. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
    ‘That’s funny, because a murdered baby wouldn’t slip my mind.’ Sardonic as ever.
    Lorna’s intake of breath was both sharp and audible. It wasn’t Victoria knowing about little David that was frightening – after all, they’d both read the same pages. Even though the case was now over twenty years old, they both saw the potential in a document that turned it from ‘natural causes’ into ‘wilful murder’. It was the mention of him in relation to recent events that made her gasp since she’d suddenly realized that one malicious moment from Victoria could destroy everything.
    Victoria added another of her long pauses. When she spoke again, Lorna guessed it was intended to make her squirm even more; though, in fact, it had the opposite effect. ‘Or doesn’t he believe it was murder?’
    Victoria hadn’t exactly got the wrong end of the stick, but she was clearly poking it around until she could be sure which was the right end. Lorna was determined not to give anything else away. They’d both recognized the initial vulnerability in her voice; now Lorna was careful to maintain an air of panic. ‘I don’t know. We should discuss this.’
    ‘Talking to you never works.’
    ‘Hold on, let me think. Look, Victoria, I can come up with an answer that will work for both of us. I know I can, but just give me a little time.’
    ‘By tonight, Lorna, or I’ll tell them everything. Today is the last day where I get screwed around by you.’
    After that phone call, Lorna changed direction. She wandered into the city centre, casting an unenthusiastic eye towards the shop windows. At least she knew there was no rush to reach home. But beyond that, she had no idea what to do next. After almost ten minutes of deliberation, she made two calls. She was pleased when her first was answered with ‘Hi, Lorna.’ At least her number was still stored in his phone’s memory.
    ‘Are you around later? I need cheering up,’ she said.
    Then she phoned Richard’s mobile to apologize for missing his calls, and found him in a state of post-jealousy calmness. She offered to work late to make up for her late arrival, but instead he offered to buy her lunch. When she hesitated, he added, ‘And dessert. Alice is here too.’
    She laughed. ‘Good.’
    ‘Dessert or Alice?’
    ‘Both.’ She strode out towards the Anchor pub, her mind never leaving the dilemma of Victoria’s ultimatum.
    Richard waved when he saw her. She waved back, momentarily wondering whether he really did love her enough to forgive everything. However, it wasn’t worth the risk.
    Alice held out a large glass of white wine. ‘You look like you need this.’
    After the second glass, Lorna began to see the possibility of a compromise: a version of the truth she could tell Richard, as well as the opportunity to make Victoria leave her alone.