Page 23 of Friend of the Family

‘Still got it,’ he smiled. ‘Why don’t we do that more often?’

‘Apparently Max’s villa has a guest cottage.’

‘Want to be out of earshot, do you?’

‘Well, if you’re going to insist on being naughty . . .’

‘We’d better get dressed,’ he said reluctantly.

‘But I’m enjoying myself.’

‘And then before we know it, there’ll be a jangle of keys in the lock and Josie will walk in.’ He said it light-heartedly, but the thought of Josie finding them like this – naked, post-coital – the thought of her seeing David’s cock, made Amy feel cold.

‘Come on, let’s go to bed,’ said David. As he stood up, she could hear her phone vibrating in her bag.

‘It might be—’

‘It won’t be work,’ he said firmly. ‘Not at this time. Besides, we’re on holiday. They can get used to doing without you. You’re never going to go off grid in Provence if you can’t resist them now.’

She forced herself to let it ring out. ‘See,’ she smiled. ‘I can do it.’

Her husband looked magnificent in the dark. Biannual triathlons kept him muscular and fit, and his handsome, regular features gave him an impressive silhouette.

‘I love you, Amy Parker,’ he whispered, and she smiled into his shoulder. She didn’t hear her married name spoken out loud very often. She’d loved David for so long, years before they had reconnected after university and started dating, and sometimes she still had to pinch herself that he loved her back.

‘I love you too, David Parker.’

This time it was his phone that started to ring.

‘Do you think someone wants to reach us?’ she said.

‘I’d better answer it . . .’ David frowned as he fished his mobile out of his jacket pocket. ‘It’s Claudia.’

‘It had better not be FaceTime,’ Amy mouthed, glancing at his cock.

He put the phone to his ear, and his frown deepened.

‘Get dressed,’ he said, ending the call. ‘See if Josie’s on her way home, or else we’ll have to get Tilly up.’

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Amy, sensing trouble.

‘Claudia’s been mugged. She’s on her way to hospital.’

The hospital was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. Perhaps it was too early for the booze-fuelled casualties, thought Amy, wondering how long it would be before she could get home. Josie had returned ten minutes after they had got the call from Claudia, but Amy knew that if Tilly woke up and discovered that her parents weren’t at home, she would get fretful.

‘So what do you think happened, Sergeant?’ asked David.

‘From what we’ve been able to gather so far, it seems Miss Smit was walking along a back street from the Tube when someone came up on a moped and grabbed her handbag. It happened fast and she’s understandably pretty shaken and can’t really remember anything more specific. A passer-by spotted her and called an ambulance.’

‘Weren’t there witnesses? The streets are pretty busy on a Friday night.’

The policeman shook his head. ‘It was a secluded area: Garden Terrace, which I believe is about five minutes from your home address. It’s pretty typical, I’m afraid. The muggers loiter around affluent areas – rich pickings, but quiet and out-of-the-way. In some ways, she’s lucky.’

‘Lucky?’

‘There’s been a spate of a

cid attacks lately. They can be really nasty.’