At Kaitlynne's Flat

Kaitlynne's address turned out to be in a rather forlorn looking block of three story flats. Those that had been purchased by their occupiers under the right to buy scheme had made attempts to smarten up with new doors, window boxes and a lick of paint. Those that remained the responsibility of social housing had a much more unloved appearance. Kaitlynne's was one of those.

"You can stay in the car" Debbi told Derek. "I shouldn't be long." Derek studied the block of flats. "Maybe I'd better come with you just in case ?"

Debbi rang the bell. There was the commotion of a yapping dog and crying baby and a distant cry of 'who the hell's that ?' The door was opened by a tired and harassed looking girl, maybe a year or two younger than Debbi but with twice as much life experience it seemed. "Yes ?" the girl demanded. "Um, sorry to bother you but are you Kaitlynne ?" Debbi began. "Who wants to know ?" the girl answered defensively. "Er, I think this is yours ?" Debbi replied, holding up the bag. Kaitlynne's demeanor softened, as did her face, betraying her age. "Oh god, thank you so much. I was going frantic, it's got all my stuff" she said as she delved into the bag. "Where did you find it ?"

"On the platform at the station" Debbi explained. Kaitlynne's natural caution and suspicion kicked back in. "What took you so long ?" she wanted to know. "I thought it was mine" said Debbi. A brief argument ensued.

"What do you mean, you thought it was yours ?"

"You bloody knocked me out when you pushed me over"

"I didn't push you, we collided" Kaitlynne clarified, remembering the incident. "And I said sorry."

"Whatever, I didn't know where I was when I came to and this station guy kept calling me Kaitlynne 'cos he'd looked in your bag. And I'd lost my memory and thought I must be Kaitlynne."

"So how come you remembered ?"

Debbi began to explain the frantic texts on Kaitlynne's phone and how she had taken her place as a stripper. Kaitlynne began to laugh. "Look, you'd better come in for a cup of tea."

They made their way into the flat past a boisterous Jack Russell. Kaitlynne removed baby detritus from the sofa and went to quieten the crying child in his cot. She explained why she had been in such a hurry. As they sat sipping tea a few minutes later, Kaitlynne unlocked her phone and scrolled through the follow up messages that Debbi had been unable to access. "Wow, they were going crazy. But I couldn't tell them I wouldn't be there cos this is my only phone. Hey, but then it says lucky for you, your girlfriend turned up and saved the day. They loved you. So it seems I've still got a job !"

The baby began crying again and Kaitlynne took him out of the cot and into her arms. "He's got this virus that's going around and the sitter says she's going to stay away until he recovers, can't risk spreading it to her other kids." She looked at Debbi curiously. "Look, I know it's a cheek and I hardly know you. But you don't think you could cover for me and do my other bookings for the next week could you ?"