Alone

They watched from the car while Kim filled a basket with sandwiches and fruit in the shop. 

Of them all, it was Joe alone who thought they should involve the Police.

‘This is way above my pay grade. And if there’s any kind of physical action, I shall be about as much use as a crab in a tumble dryer.’

“I do not think we would be able to engage the attention of the Police in any meaningful way, in the time we have available,’ said Delphine. ‘It will be difficult to articulate the threat and get them to act on our fears.’

Joe nodded gloomily. ‘I suppose you’re right. The suggestion that we get Jean-Claude to speak for you all is probably the best one. If we could only get hold of him.’ He dialled again. ‘It just goes to our voicemail.’

‘I do not understand the value of a crustacean in a drying machine,’ said Delphine. ‘Do I need to know this?’

‘No, sorry, it was a sort of joke. That’s the one thing missing in your make-up, Delphine - a sense of humour.’

‘No doubt we will develop that as time goes on, but at the moment we do not see the need for humour,’ said the eminently practical Emma.

‘Humour?’ said Kim, puzzled, catching the end of the conversation as she climbed back into the car. ‘ What’s this about humour? Here, pass this shopping backwards - girls, would you stow that beside you somewhere? Thanks.’

‘It’s nothing. I was just saying the clones have no sense of humour and Emma said they’d sort one out later.’