Lindsay closed her eyes and cursed silently. Helen was absolutely right. If Catriona had told Penny about the talks, the chances are that Meredith would know it was a possibility. Even if she hadn’t, if Helen had heard it on the grapevine it was entirely possible that Meredith had too, Lindsay thought, remembering with a lurch that Meredith’s best friend from college worked in Los Angeles, writing machine code to produce computerized special effects for Hollywood. And there would be plenty of special effects in any films of the Darkliners novels. It would be almost impossible for Meredith to establish her ignorance. Proving a negative was always the hardest thing in any investigation, Lindsay knew from her long journalistic experience. “I can’t think about this any more today,” she said. “I need to sleep on it. Maybe when I wake up tomorrow, my subconscious will have had the chance to work out where I go for proof.”

“You’re probably right,” Helen said. “And I know just how to help you put it right out of your mind.”

Warning bells rang like a smoke alarm in Lindsay’s head. “Oh, yeah?” she said warily.

“Yeah. You can advise me on my little problem.”

Lindsay groaned and raised her hands as if to fend off a blow. “I already gave you the only advice I know. Dig the dirt, then dish it.”

“Can’t you do the digging for me?” Helen asked plaintively. “I don’t have your experience. I’m just a simple TV producer. I don’t even know where to start.”

“And you think I do?” Lindsay said, amused in spite of herself by Helen’s attempts at pathos. “I know nothing about this woman. I don’t know her surname, her age, what she looks like, where she lives, what she drives or what kind of clothes she wears. I don’t know who her friends are, what she does on her days off or anybody she’s ever shagged. If anybody’s going to get something on Stella, don’t you think you’re a bit better equipped?”

Helen shook her head. “Her surname is Piper and she’s thirty-two.” She rummaged in her bag and came out with an A3 brochure promoting Watergaw Films. She flicked it open to the back cover. There, beneath Helen and Guy, was a head-and-shoulders shot of Stella Piper. Straight dark hair cut close to her head, liquid brown eyes accentuated with eyeliner and mascara, a pert, upturned nose and a rosebud mouth.

“She looks like Bambi,” Lindsay said.