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Chapter 11

I didn’t want to think about how much the Iron Maiden incident, as I’d started calling it, had cost me in refunded classes and vouchers for free treatments to apologise for the inconvenience. But, the only silver lining to the whole nightmare was that for a few days everything calmed down. There had been no more loud music, no more power cuts. All my staff were fit and healthy. I tried not to hope that it was all over, but it certainly looked that way.

Lou had emailed to say things had kicked off on the case she was working on. She reassured me that she was still looking at Star’s death, but she didn’t have time to meet up right now. I swallowed my disappointment and told her to ring me when she was less busy at work.

A week after the Iron Maiden incident, I was in Esme’s room, watching her get dressed for a night out with Jamie’s parents, when her phone rang.

“Answer it,” she said. She was trying to get into a posh-looking dress and failing miserably. I looked at the screen.

“It’s Xander,” I said. “Why’s he phoning you?”

I swiped the screen and put it on speakerphone, holding it up to Esme’s face as she twisted round and tried to get her arm through the sleeve.

“Hello,” she shouted.

“Howarrya,” Xander drawled. Esme sat down, suddenly, on her bed, the back of her dress gaping. I eyed her suspiciously. She could deny it all she wanted, but Xander definitely had an effect on her.

“I’m stuck in my dress,” she panted. ‘I can’t reach the zip and there’s no one to help me.” She looked pointedly at me and I stuck my tongue out at her.