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Garrett. ‘I only heard it second-hand, so I don’t know any details.’ He gave her a searching look. ‘You all right?’ he said.
    ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Really, I am. But, you know—what might have been, and all that.’
    ‘There was no excuse for what they did. They both treated you pretty badly.’
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Zanna. ‘What can you do? They fell in love. It was just unfortunate he happened to be engaged to me at the time. It’s not their fault I went off my head.’
    She said it lightly and he laughed, as he was meant to.
    ‘Well, you’re obviously on the mend,’ he said. ‘And you’re looking good too. But then you always did.’
    ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I really do feel much better. I’m definitely ready to move on and forget the past.’
    ‘Excellent,’ he said. ‘So, then, what say I go and speak to the police for you and see what they can tell me about your Aunt Helen? I could go to the station at Alnwick this afternoon if you like.’
    ‘Would you?’ she said. ‘I don’t suppose they’ll tell me much, but you’re press so you might get more out of them. I’d just like to know how far they went to find her. My dad didn’t say anything about them contacting him, so it doesn’t sound like they did very much. I don’t think they even launched a missing persons enquiry.’
    ‘I’ll see what they say,’ he said. ‘Do you want to come with me? We could have lunch in Alnwick. My treat.’
    ‘Maybe not this time. I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I’m supposed to be going to the Devereuxes’ for tea at four, so I thought I might lie down for a bit, if that’s all right.’
    ‘OK,’ he said easily. ‘I’ll see you after, then. I’m staying at the Coach and Horses too, by the way. You don’t mind, do you? They were so pleased to see me I couldn’t say no when they asked if I wanted a room.’
    ‘That sounds like Ewan,’ said Zanna, laughing.
    ‘Is that his name? Listen, if I’m going to get anything out of the police it’ll help if they think I’ve got some new information to give them. There’s nothing you can tell me about Helen that they don’t already know, is there?’
    ‘I don’t think so,’ said Zanna. ‘Anyway, I don’t know what they already know. More than I do, I imagine.’
    Even as she said it, she wondered whether that was true. Perhaps she did know more about Helen than anyone. Nobody else seemed to know much about her past—not even her own husband. But after all this time, was it a good idea to set the cat among the pigeons? Perhaps it was better to let some things lie.
    Garrett got to his feet and held out a hand to help her up.
    ‘You realize the two of them are probably dead and buried under the patio, don’t you?’ he said, keeping hold of her hand. ‘I bet this Alexander guy is really a homicidal maniac.’
    ‘The police looked into it at the time and concluded that he wasn’t. Besides, he had an alibi.’
    ‘Alibi, schmalibi,’ he said. ‘People don’t just disappear like that.’
    ‘You’ve been a journalist too long,’ said Zanna. ‘It’s made you a cynic.’
    ‘I’ve always been a cynic,’ he said. ‘About some things, anyway.’
    He was smiling at her. She pulled away her hand gently.
    ‘Off you go, then,’ she said. ‘Don’t forget to report back.’
    ‘I’ll see you later,’ he said, and went off.

A FTER GARRETT had gone, Zanna made her way slowly back to the Coach and Horses. She had been telling the truth when she said she was tired, but that wasn’t the reason she had refused to go with him to Alnwick. He had said they were friends, but all the signs pointed to his still having more than a friendly interest in her, and she wanted to discourage him, as that road led back to a place from which she was only just beginning to emerge. It wasn’t that she didn’t find him attractive, but an irrational desire for revenge brought on by an incipient nervous breakdown was no basis for a