Necessary as Blood

reassuringly familiar. She found the boys watching a video in the sitting room, the dogs sprawled lazily by the garden door.
    She hugged Toby until he yelped, squirming, and Kit ducked away from her, grinning. ‘No squishing for me, ta very much.‘
    ‘Why aren‘t you outside?‘ asked Gemma.
    ‘Too hot. Dad said we had to watch something Toby liked, so it‘s Pirates again.‘ Johnny Depp swaggered across the screen, gold tooth glinting, and Toby folded himself cross-legged on the floor once more, transfixed.
    ‘So I see.‘ The dogs were panting gently. ‘Where is your dad?‘
    ‘Doug called him into the office, something about reports that had to be finished by Monday morning. He said for you to ring him.‘
    Gemma hoped that meant she was forgiven for her bad temper of the night before, and she realized she‘d been mentally criticizing Hazel when she‘d been guilty of behaving unreasonably herself.
    ‘Would you two like to pay Erika a visit?‘ she said on impulse. ‘We could walk.‘
    ‘Too hot,‘ said Kit.
    ‘We could get an ice cream afterwards.‘
    Toby dragged his attention from the screen. ‘Yay, Mummy! What kind?‘
    ‘Yeah, okay, so I‘m susceptible to bribery,‘ agreed
    Kit.
    ‘Let me give Erika a ring, then get cleaned up a bit.‘
    It wasn‘t until they were walking down Ladbroke Road a few minutes later, Gemma having taken a quick shower and changed, that she confessed to an ulterior motive.
    ‘I want to see Erika, too,‘ she said, ‘but while you‘re visiting, I need to stop by Betty Howard‘s for a few minutes.‘
    ‘You‘re going to see Wesley‘s mum without us?‘ Kit stared at her suspiciously. ‘Why can‘t we go? Betty always wants to see us.‘
    ‘Of course she does, but this time it‘s a bit complicated.‘ She explained that Betty was taking care of a little girl named Charlotte who needed a place to stay for a while, and that Charlotte wasn‘t ready to meet anyone else new quite yet.
    She knew she would have to tell them about Charlotte‘s parents, but she wasn‘t eager to broach the subject with Kit. Kit merely said, however, ‘You won‘t be gone long, will you?‘
    Gemma had become friends with Erika Rosenthal in the course of investigating a case when she had first been posted back to Notting Hill. In the past few months they had become even closer, when the unexpected appearance of an antique brooch at auction had opened a window into the older woman‘s troubled past.
    A retired academic with no children of her own, Erika had taken a special interest in Toby and Kit, and the boys considered her family — a courtesy grandmother. They saw Erika, in fact, much more often than they saw Gemma‘s or Duncan‘s parents. Toby‘s dad, Rob, had walked out on Gemma when Toby was an infant, and Rob‘s parents had cut off all contact, thereby helping their son avoid paying maintenance for Toby. Good riddance, as far as Gemma was concerned.
    As for Kit, his maternal grandparents had proved even more difficult. After a failed attempt to gain custody, they were allowed only supervised visits with Kit, and so had stopped making any effort to see their grandson. Kit‘s relationship with his grandmother had been unpleasant at best, abusive at worst, and if he missed his grandfather, he never said. He had quickly-become attached to Duncan‘s parents, and was fond of Gemma‘s, but his relationship with Erika was special. They were in many ways kindred spirits, despite the differences in age and background.
    When they reached the house in Arundel Gardens and rang the bell, Erika answered immediately, beaming at them and brushing back the snow-white hair escaping from its usual twist. She wore a flowered pinny and had a smudge of something on her cheek. Ah, kitchen help,‘ she said. What good timing.‘
    Are you making something for us?‘ Toby asked as they followed her into the hall.
    ‘No. I‘m having a guest for dinner, and the entrée must be something very French. It‘s too hot to use the cooker, so I‘m making a seafood salad, and I thought Kit could help me with the calamari.‘
    ‘What‘s calamari?‘ said Toby.
    Kit wiggled his fingers at him. ‘Squid.‘
    ‘Ooh, yuck,‘ Toby pronounced, but the smell of garlic, lemon and fresh herbs coming from the kitchen made Gemma‘s mouth water.
    ‘I can do squid,‘ Kit added with relish. ‘You disembowel them.‘
    Laughing, Erika said, ‘Well, before you start your operation, I have a little treat for