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some embarrassment. ‘Just someone I met this morning. He’s a gallery owner, and he said he might be interested in my pictures.’
    ‘So you thought you’d do a portrait of him to butter him up,’ said Garrett. ‘He looks a bit miserable. Maybe you should have done one of him smiling instead.’
    ‘He doesn’t smile much,’ said Zanna, and put the pad away.
    ‘Tell me about this aunt of yours, then,’ said Garrett. ‘Maybe I can help.’
    ‘I thought you were chasing up a hot story,’ said Zanna.
    ‘Already filed. And now I’ve got a few days off, so I’m all yours. It’s a nice place, this, isn’t it? I had no idea.’
    ‘Nor did I,’ said Zanna. ‘It’s beautiful.’
    ‘I can see why she might have come here, if she wanted a bit of peace and quiet. So she married some guy from Elsbury, yes?’
    Zanna told him the story and he raised his eyebrows again.
    ‘You’re saying she just ran off with this little boy twenty-five years ago, and nobody’s seen them since? Didn’t anybody start a manhunt?’
    ‘Well, yes, they did, but Alexander says there was no custody dispute as such, so there wasn’t much they could do.’
    ‘He sounds a bit slack if you ask me. What kind of man lets his wife and stepson run off without doing something about it?’ said Garrett.
    ‘He did do something. He hired a private detective,’ said Zanna. She felt oddly compelled to defend Alexander, even though she had to admit to herself that Garrett was right: he had been slack. ‘He’s not really the active type. I just think he’s one of these dreamy people who lives in his own world and doesn’t notice when things are happening right under his nose. He didn’t even realize his own wife was unhappy until she ran away.’
    ‘I wonder where she went, then,’ said Garrett. ‘Strange that they both disappeared so thoroughly. I mean, you’d think they’d have turned up by now. I can’t believe Rowan at least isn’t on Facebook or wherever.’
    ‘Maybe he is. I only found out about him this morning so I haven’t checked. Although I’m sure Will must have looked, even if Alexander hasn’t.’
    ‘I’ll have a look myself in a bit,’ he said, lying back on the sand and closing his eyes. ‘Right now I just want to lie here and get a suntan. I can’t believe it’s nearly October, can you?’
    ‘You’re not really staying, are you?’ said Zanna. ‘There’s not much I can do to find her while I’m here. I only really came up here to get away for a few days and because Alexander was so insistent. I doubt there’s much you can do to help.’
    ‘Call it moral support,’ he said. He opened his eyes and turned his head towards her. ‘We’re friends, right? Friends help each other. You’ve had a bad time and I just want you to know I’m still here if you need me. I’m sorry I made things harder for you. I know I was stupid.’
    ‘No, I was the stupid one,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry too, but I’m glad we’re still friends.’
    ‘Have you spoken to Adam lately?’ he said after a pause.
    ‘Not for a couple of months, I think,’ she said. ‘Why?’
    ‘Ellie’s pregnant.’
    Zanna was silent for a moment, as this sank in. Had things gone according to plan, that would have been her, but she was surprised to find that the news didn’t affect her as much as she might have expected. Children would have been the next step after the wedding, she supposed, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. She was still trying to figure out her own life, and the last thing she needed was someone else to look after.
    Garrett was watching her to see her reaction. She smiled.
    ‘That’s nice,’ she said. ‘When’s it due?’
    ‘Early next year, I think.’
    ‘I’ll have to buy them a present,’ she said. ‘How’s Ellie? Is she sick?’
    Ellie, who had been her best friend until Adam had decided that he wanted to marry her instead of Zanna. Ellie, who was now having Adam’s baby.
    ‘No idea,’ said