‘Just leaving the caff,’ Josie replied, swapping her mobile to the other ear as she made her way along Kesterly’s busy seafront towards the bus stop. The wind was bitter this afternoon, whipping the waves up over the rocks, and tearing through the Christmas lights like some avenging fiend. ‘Then I’ll pick you up,’ he told her. ‘I’m just turning out of North Road, so I should see you any minute.’ ‘No, don’t worry about me,’ she cried, probably too quickly. ‘I’ve got some shopping to do, and I promised Carly I’d meet her for a cup of tea at Yuri’s when I get off the bus.’ Since Yuri’s bakery was next to the cab office on Temple Fields high street, she had to hope that Jeff didn’t take it upon himself to drop in and surprise her. It might be a good idea to text Carly, the neighbourhood blabbermouth, to ask her for cover, except then she’d have to explain what she was really doing, and since she didn’t want Carly and the rest of the world knowing her business she felt suddenly irritable and frustrated.
