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posture, crossing her arms
over her wide chest and staring hard at him.’
    ‘ My name is Robert Vasey-Smith and I represent a firm of
solicitors called Hamilton Blythe. I have some important
information for Miss Greene.’
    ‘ Well I’m her foster mum, you can tell it to me.’
    ‘ I’m afraid I’m not authorised to speak to anyone other than
Miss Greene herself.’ He turned to Madison. ‘I take it you are
Madison Greene?’
    ‘ Yeah,’ she said, feeling nervous now.
    ‘ Everything okay over here, Mrs Johnson? Miss Greene?’ The
supermarket manager came up the aisle. ‘Are you alright, sir? Do
you need some assistance?’
    ‘ It’s okay, Colin,’ Angie replied. ‘Just a personal matter,
we’ll have it sorted in a mo.’
    ‘ There’s no need for me to remind you what the policy is on
personal conversations in the workplace.’ He frowned. ‘Sort it out
quickly please, girls.’ And he strode off in the direction of Dairy
Products.
    ‘ You heard the man,’ Angie said. ‘We’ll be getting grief off
him now.’
    ‘ I apologise,’ the solicitor said. ‘Is there a good time when
I could speak to you uninterrupted, Miss Greene? Are there any
cafés near here where I could meet you after work?’
    ‘ I don’t care if you’re a solicitor or the King of Timbuktu,
you won’t be going anywhere with this barely sixteen-year-old girl
without me. ’
Angie put her hands on her hips and glared at Mr
Vasey-Smith.
    ‘ Angie’ll come with me,’ Maddy agreed.
    ‘ Very well.’
    ‘ Ali’s Caf on the High Street at four thirty,’ Angie said.
‘Now you better leave before you lose us our jobs.’
    He nodded and
left. Angie and Madison stared wide-eyed at each other.
    ‘ What’s all that about then?’ Angie asked. ‘I hope for your
sake you haven’t done anything you shouldn’t have. Trevor isn’t in
the mood for any more of your troublemaking. It’ll be the last
straw, Maddy. He’s got no more patience.’
    ‘ We better get on with our work, Angie. Colin’ll be on the
warpath.’
    ‘ Hmmm.’ Angie walked back to the checkouts, glancing back at
Madison.
    Maddy’s mind
whirred and clicked. She wished she knew what it was all about. How
had he known her and where she worked? And he’d mentioned her mum,
that was the weirdest part. Her heart felt too big for her ribcage
and she couldn’t concentrate. Who cared about country vegetable
soup at a time like this?
     
    *
     
    Ali’s Caf was
packed to its grease-stained ceiling, mainly with school kids, and
it didn’t take Madison and Angie any time at all to spot the
solicitor. He didn’t quite fit the usual customer profile. He sat,
straight-backed, in the far corner with his briefcase on the
table.
    Madison
followed Angie, who wove her way purposefully past the other
customers towards him. They sat down on the sticky plastic chairs
and he asked if he could get them a drink.
    ‘ Coke please,’ said Madison.
    ‘ I’ll have the same,’ said Angie.
    He turned
around and asked the man behind the counter for two cokes, a cup of
tea and a plate of sandwiches.
    ‘ We’re intrigued, Mr ... Vasey-Smith is it?’ Angie said.
‘What’s it all about?’
    ‘ I have some interesting news for you, Madison. You’ve been
very difficult to track down.’
    ‘ How d’you know my mum?’
    ‘ We’ll get to all that. Will you permit me to tell you what I
need to? And then you can ask me any questions you might have and
I’ll do my best to answer them.’
    The cokes
arrived on the table and Angie patted her hair and took a couple of
delicate sips. ‘Let’s let the man speak, Maddy.’
    ‘ Our client is deceased, but before his death he spent much
time and considerable funds in trying to trace any living
relatives. Alas, he found none, but remained convinced he had
someone somewhere, no matter how far removed.
    ‘ After his death, he entrusted my firm with the task of
carrying on this search for the time span of one hundred years.
After which time, if