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Walking with Poppy the day after our awkward meeting with Barry in Maud’s flat, I noticed a woman walking along the grassy slopes that ran down to the river. Tall and willowy, and wearing a long black coat and black beret, she might have looked elegant yet was somehow gauche. Her shoulders were slightly hunched and she seemed to be constantly glancing around like a restless predator. As we drew nearer to one another I was able to observe her more clearly, but it wasn’t until I was close enough to see her bright red lipstick that I remembered where I had seen her before. We kept walking until we drew level with one another and she called out in greeting, staring at me with penetrating black eyes.
‘Hello there. It’s Emily, isn’t it?’
‘You came to The Plough, didn’t you?’ I replied, ans
