Necessary as Blood

shrugged. ‘I don‘t know why it should be anyone else‘s business. As I‘ve said, it was a long time ago. But if you want the truth, I always fancied Sandra more than she fancied me. She thought I was all flash and no substance, and I have to admit my track record hasn‘t been great, relationship-wise. And then, when she met Naz, everyone else was history.‘
    ‘How did she meet Naz, do you know?‘
    ‘He bought flowers from her.‘

    The blonde girl came out of the little office, carrying a tray set with a teapot and cups. ‘Sorry, Lucas,‘ she said. ‘Phone kept ringing.‘ She set the tray down on the coffee table in the sitting area, then hurried back to the desk as the front door buzzed.
    ‘Thanks, Karen,‘ he called after her. Then, motioning them to sit, Ritchie joined them and poured the tea himself. TWo men came in, greeting the blonde girl. The doors behind the desk opened to reveal a lift, and a group of men stepped out, making way for the incomers. They nodded at Ritchie as they headed for the front door.
    ‘Last of the lunch crowd clearing out,‘ Ritchie murmured. ‘It‘ll be drinks soon.‘
    ‘So Sandra met Naz when she was working for Roy?‘ said Gemma, pleased by the idea.
    ‘A bit fairy-tale, but yes. I think he came every Sunday for a month before he got up the nerve to ask her for coffee.‘
    ‘You‘ve known Naz for a long time, too, then.‘ Gemma balanced the fine white china cup on her knee. She wasn‘t sure why Ritchie was being so accommodating — she had the sense that it was in some way a performance — but she wasn‘t going to let an opportunity go by. ‘What was he like? It‘s been harder to get a feeling for him, for what made him tick.‘
    ‘We all thought she‘d gone bonkers, at first. It wasn‘t that he was Asian — if you were racially prejudiced you certainly didn‘t admit to it — but he was a lawyer, for God‘s sake. Older, sober, hard-working — none of those things was in our art-student manifesto.‘ Ritchie drank some of his tea and stared into the cold fire. ‘It was only later, as I got to know him a bit better, that I saw the sense of humour beneath that serious exterior. But there was also a sort of rock-solid steadiness to Naz. They balanced each other, or maybe it was that he saw something in Sandra that no one else did.
    ‘And they were both completely committed to being a family.‘ He frowned, as if testing his memory. ‘I don‘t think Naz had any family left, and Sandra — well, it comes back to that, doesn‘t it?‘
    He glanced at her, as if considering, then went on more slowly. ‘There was something that happened, I‘d forgotten. In art college, when she first started going out with Naz. She came to class one day with a black eye. She hadn‘t tried to cover it up, she wasn‘t like that — there was always a bit of defiance to Sandra — but she wouldn‘t talk about it, either. If you asked something she didn‘t want to answer, she would just give you a look that would freeze your marrow.
    ‘But I asked her, because I didn‘t know Naz well then, if it was this new guy, and she looked truly shocked. She said, "Bloody hell, do you think I‘m some sort of slag?” and she wouldn‘t speak to me for a week.‘
    ‘Was she living at home still?‘ Gemma asked. ‘Yeah. Dreadful council flat. I picked her up and dropped her off now and again, but she never let me come in.‘
    ‘So do you think someone in her family did that to her?‘
    ‘Well, if it wasn‘t Naz — and I don‘t believe it was — she had those two younger brothers. I got the impression she‘d never known her dad, but then I suppose her mum might have had boyfriends...‘
    ‘Don‘t discount the mum,‘ Melody put in. ‘It wouldn‘t be the first time a mother lost her temper, even with a grown daughter.‘
    Gemma had considered that Gail might neglect Charlotte, or verbally abuse her, or expose her to bad influences, but it hadn‘t occurred to her that Gail might physically harm her. But of course it was possible. She felt stupid, and more than a little horrified.
    ‘Mr Ritchie, would you be willing to testify in a family court about the possibility that Sandra was abused by someone in her family?‘
    ‘Family court?‘ He stared at her as if she were the one who‘d gone bonkers. ‘But it‘s completely unsubstantiated. And it was years ago. I really don‘t see…‘ he looked round and, even though there was no one else in the reception