He was wandering on through the house, opening doors and expecting George to follow him. They ended up in a kitchen which was full of laundry. There was washing on a rack suspended from the ceiling, and underwear draped over a radiator under the window had caused the glass to steam up. In one corner a washing machine churned relentlessly. Absentmindedly Lomax took two cans of beer from the fridge and moved a pile of ironed sheets so George could sit down.

‘What is all this about, George?’ he said, peering cautiously over the rim of the can.

‘You had a secretary,’ George said. ‘Kate Craven. She killed herself. I want to know all about her.’

‘In what context, George?’ He shuffled uneasily on the kitchen chair. He had definitely, George thought, been warned off.

‘In the context of Marcus Grenville,’ George said, deliberately.

‘Ah!’ He drank more beer and looked uncomfortable. ‘ I see.’

‘I’m working for Marcus Grenville,’ George said. ‘He’s hired me.’

‘Oh, I see!’ Lomax cheered up considerably. ‘ So old Marcus knows you’re here.’

‘I didn’t say that,’ George said. ‘But I’ve got his interests in mind. There’s every danger, you know, of his being arrested for murder. I don’t think he’s killed anyone and I want to prove it. Did he recommend Kate Craven to you as a secretary?’

‘No,’ Lomax said. ‘ Not exactly. But she gave his name as a referee. She’d been brought up on his estate in Westmorland. So I had a chat to him about her.’

‘Had he seen her since she’d left home?’

‘No,’ Lomax said uncertainly. ‘At least I don’t think so. He just sketched in her background.’

‘But he did get to know her later? When she started working for you?’

Lomas was an honest man despite his profession. He disliked lying. ‘Look, George, this is off the record, isn’t it? Marcus isn’t a great chum but I don’t want to land him in the shit. Besides, he’s got a lot of important friends…’

George was tired and running out of patience.

‘You should know by now that I’m hardly likely to go talking to the press.’

‘Yes.’ Lomax shrugged apologetically. ‘Of course.’

George tried a different tack.

‘Was Miss Craven a good worker?’ he said. ‘ Did you get on with her?’

‘She was one of the best!’ Lomax was glad of a question he could answer unambiguously. ‘ Efficient, of course, but there are lots of efficient secretaries about. She was different because she was so pleasant. She made you feel good about going into the office in the morning. Pretty, too. I could understand…’

His voice trailed off.

‘… why Marcus Grenville fell for her?’ George completed the sentence. Lomax nodded unhappily.

‘How did the affair begin?’

‘Look here, George,’ Lomax blustered. ‘I never said anything about an affair.’