“I thought you said there wasn’t any mail delivery on Sunday,” Mike said to Polly.

“You’ve had a letter from Daphne,” Eileen called excitedly, running up. “It came yesterday, but since it was addressed to you, Mrs. Rickett thought it had been sent to the wrong address, and she was planning to send it back. Thank goodness I saw it before she did.”

She handed it to Mike. He opened the letter and then frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The letter’s dated a week ago. She must have forgotten to mail it.” He began reading the letter. “She also misplaced the other address I gave her. That’s why she sent it to Mrs. Rickett’s. And—”

He stopped short, reading silently. “Oh, my God!”

“What?” Eileen and Polly said in unison.

“I don’t believe this. Listen to this,” he said excitedly. “ ‘You said to tell you if anyone came round asking after you. Two men came in to the Crown and Anchor last night, asking all sorts of questions. They said they were friends of yours and that they needed to get in touch with you and did I know where you were.” He looked up at Eileen. “Christ, you were right. The retrieval team’s here. They’ve been here for over a week.”

“I told you they’d find us,” Eileen said smugly. “Did she tell them where you were?”

Obviously not, or they’d have been here by now. “No,” he said, and told them he’d leave for Dover that night.

“I think we should go with you,” Eileen said, “or at least Polly should. She’s the one it’s the most urgent to get out.”

He shook his head. “I’m going to have to get the information out of Daphne, and she wouldn’t appreciate my showing up with another woman.”

“She wouldn’t need to go with you to the pub,” Eileen argued. “She could stay at the inn or—”

“The inn and the pub are one and the same,” he said, “and even if they weren’t, Saltram-on-Sea’s a tiny village. Daphne’d know about Polly within five minutes of her arrival. Besides, I have no idea how I’m going to get there.”

He explained about the bus service having been discontinued and the gasoline rationing making it hard to get hold of a car. “I’ll probably have to hitchhike, and it could take two or three days. Plus, it’s a restricted area. I’ve got a press pass, but neither of you do.”

Polly agreed. “The trains will be jammed with Christmas travelers and soldiers home on leave. Perhaps instead of going there, you should write to Daphne. It might be quicker.”

“Unless the retrieval team’s there in Saltram-on-Sea. Or unless she doesn’t know where they are. I may have to track them down after I’ve talked to her. I’ll phone you as soon as I’ve found them.”

“But if they’re in Saltram-on-Sea, how will we get there?” Eileen asked worriedly. “You said it was a restricted area.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Mike said.