THAT NIGHT, BEFORE SHUTTING DOWN THE COMPUTER ON THE way to bed, I checked my emails.

Another from Fiorella:

Did you receive my email this afternoon? In case you didn’t, here it is again.

On the spur of the moment and without giving it a second thought, I clicked Reply and wrote:

Think artefact.

If she was as keen a reader of my books as she said she was, she wouldn’t have much trouble working out what I meant.