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glances. ‘That’s very nice, dear,’ Mary said as Bet-Bet resumed her work, wondering briefly how Bet-Bet planned on squeezing through the window bars.
    ‘Yes, if all else fails, I suppose I can escape,’ Eva said in a lowered voice. ‘And if my lawyer doesn’t jolly well write back to me soon I might have to. They watch me like hawks in this place. Cynthia is lucky. Like you, she seems able to blend into the street. It was hours before the attendants even realised she was missing. I only dared go overnight — stayed out for but a few hours and then returned. All hell broke loose then, didn’t it?’
    ‘They’d been combing the grounds for you,’ Mary remembered vaguely.
    ‘And I paid the price — a week in solitary. They should have thanked me for returning.’ Eva sighed. ‘Truth be told, I hated that taste of freedom. I couldn’t pull the vagrant look off anyway; I was doomed to fail.’
    ‘Beauty has its drawbacks,’ Mary said, glad to see how the remark made her friend smile.
    ‘I was hoping to see Bevan, you know, try to talk some sense into him. He used to live close to the station. But when I visited his old house and asked for him, the maid said he no longer lived there.’
    ‘I could not have coped with a Bevan.’ Mary sighed. ‘I was blessed to have a husband like George.’
    ‘You were.’ Eva placed her sherry on the table next to her. ‘This is a terrible place, Mary. Fogarty does the most awful things.’
    ‘He does indeed,’ Mary said, nodding, not quite sure what Eva was talking about.
    ‘We need to get this place investigated and closed down. Too many women in here are locked up illegally for the convenience of their relatives. Take my case, for example —’
    ‘I do remember your case, my dear. Some things stick, you know. Charming policeman, knew him when he was a boy. No sign of Cynthia, though. I do so worry about her.’
    ‘What policeman?’
    ‘The one investigating the bombing.’
    Eva absently traced the rim of her sherry glass. ‘So you are pally with a policeman,’ she mused. ‘Do you think he would investigate this place if he knew what was going on here?’
    ‘Oh, he’s sure to,’ Mary answered. ‘He was an excellent piano player.’
    Eva looked at Mary for a moment, and shook her head. Then she shrugged and her beautiful face lit up with a glorious smile. ‘In that case, I think I have a plan.’
    They raised their glasses. The delicate ring of crystal was drowned out by the sound of their laughter. Laughter at what, Mary didn’t quite know. Whatever it was about, it was good to see the dear girl laugh again.

Chapter Five
    The cab dropped Dody off outside her house. It was three days since the explosion and she hoped the final few post mortems would be completed the following day. All she could think about was a hot bath and bed. Annie had left the porch light on, but even then, Dody had trouble slotting the key into the lock. Her arms felt as if they were tied to weights, her eyes filled with sand, her feet encased in lead — hardly surprising as she had been on them for three days in a row now, only breaking for the occasional snatched meal and a minimum amount of sleep.
    She closed the door behind her, brushed past the palms in the front entrance and dumped her Gladstone bag onto the black and white tiles of the hall floor. The sound of raised voices met her from behind the closed morning-room door at the other end of the hall. Annie, the maid, sprang up from her crouched position at the keyhole.
    ‘Miss Dody! I was just looking for Miss Florence’s earring. She said she dropped it somewhere hereabouts.’ Before Dody could finish her eye-roll, the maid rushed to her side and took her coat and gloves. ‘I’ll carry your bag upstairs for you, miss, and run a bath. You look done in.’
    ‘It sounds like my sister has company.’ A familiar-looking bowler sat on the hall table. ‘Chief Inspector Pike?’ What was he doing here? He only ever called