At the huge old table, she set him to picking mint leaves from the stems while she made coffee. He watched her move around the kitchen, easily, quickly, a little carelessly. She was in control here, he realized. Ale had talked last night of the safety that could be found in kitchens, the power and control that came with feeding people. Had this young woman learned the same?

For all her new friendliness, Zahrah didn’t look at him again. By the time he’d got through half the mint stems, she’d shoved a basket of bread and a jar of honey on to the table, a bowl of plums and a dish of what looked like soft, white cheese, drizzled in oil and fresh herbs. Last came the coffee, very strong, poured into tiny, chipped cups.

She dropped on to a stool opposite him and didn’t wait, but scooped up a bit of cheese with a wedge of bread. Foggy-headed, he did the same.

‘So,’ she said as she chewed, spooning out some honey. ‘How are you going to fix the mess you’ve made?’

Sam almost choked on the bread. ‘What?’

‘The mess you have made with the journalist,’ she said. ‘Telling him about this place, letting him think that there is some scandal to be dug up about Langham and Ale.’ She looked him in the eye. ‘What are you going to do about it?’

His stomach twisted with guilt all over again. She must have eavesdropped on the conversation, or else Ale must have told her. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘First I’ll go and find Norton, try to persuade him to drop it.’

‘You have to do better than try.’ Her face was serious. ‘Listen, there’s a reason why we are so private. No one, apart from a few trusted people, knows that this is where Ale lives.’ She twisted her coffee cup around, obviously wondering how much to tell him. ‘Ale has had an … interesting career. And the name Alejandro del Potro is linked to certain kinds of trouble. If the authorities found out about this place, they would come and look for Ale, search the house at the very least. And if they thought they could tie Ale to a murder, however long ago it happened,’ she shook her head, ‘they’d use it as an excuse for an arrest, an investigation. You understand?’