Carol runs down the corridor in her stockinged feet, screaming all the way to the stairwell.

 By the time she's run down seven flights of stairs she's hysterical. She leans against the cool whitewashed breeze-block wall and forces herself to listen over the sound of her thumping heart.

Nobody has followed. Her car is parked underneath the hotel and if she can get there before they catch her, she can call the police. The fire alarm starts to blare out as she gets to her small family hatchback. By the time she rolls up the exit ramp, people in dressing gowns and pyjamas are spilling out of the emergency exits onto the street. Someone has found the dead enforcer and a crowd is gathering. Somewhere close by sirens are blaring as smoke roils out of the wide-open window on the seventh floor. She forgets about calling the police and drives away.

When the shock of what has just happens begins to hit, she parks the car and just sits there shivering and sobbing. When her phone rings suddenly, she yelps. It's Ray from Keith's office. Keith is in hospital, they've been trying to contact her all day. He's had a heart attack.

Carol can't think straight, so she goes home. Her clothes are all there, packed and ready to go. This morning she was going to leave Keith for Peter. She has a shower and changes her clothes, throwing her blouse in the dustbin.

When she gets to the hospital, Keith is propped up, awake. There are tears in his eyes when he sees her. Abigail from the office is sat outside, looking tired. She looks like a frightened rabbit when she sees Carol and practically runs to the coffee machine after they've spoken.

Keith, soppy old Keith who she was going to leave for Peter the fucking money launderer. "What were you thinking?" her brain screams as Keith blubbers out a string of apologies. Keith tells her everything, which, she has to admit is pretty tame considering three hours ago she was about to run away with an embezzler and two hours ago she tried to kill a man with a complimentary hotel-room steam-iron. She doesn't tell him about any of that. Instead she goes out to find Abigail sitting in the waiting room and tells her to stay away from her fucking husband. The last few words are spat out with such volume that a man with a piece of fence post stuck in his leg forgets his predicament and turns to look, along with the rest of the A & E department.