Banks’s mobile rang, startling him out of his gloomy reverie. “Sorry,” he said. “I’d better take it. Might be important.”

He walked out into the street and sheltered from the rain under a shop awning. It was getting dark and there wasn’t much traffic about. The road surface glistened in the lights of the occasional car, and puddles reflected the blue neon sign of a video rental shop across the street. “Alan, it’s Annie,” said the voice at the other end.

“Annie? What’s happening?”

Annie told Banks about the Liz Palmer interview, and he could sense anger and sadness in her account.

“You think she’s telling the truth?”

“Pretty certain,” said Annie. “The Big Man interviewed Ryan Milne at the same time and the details check out. They haven’t been allowed to get together and concoct a story since they’ve been in custody.”

“Okay,” said Banks. “So where does that leave us?”

“With a distraught and disoriented Luke Armitage wandering off into the night alone,” Annie said. “The thoughtless bastards.”

“So where did he go?”

“We don’t know. It’s back to the drawing board. There’s just one thing…”

“Yes.”

“The undigested diazepam that Dr. Glendenning found in Luke’s system.”

“What about it?”

“Well, he didn’t get it at Liz and Ryan’s flat. Neither of them has a prescription and we didn’t find any in our search.”

“They could have got it illegally, along with the cannabis and LSD, then got rid of it.”

“They could have,” said Annie. “But why lie about it?”

“That I can’t answer. What’s your theory?”

“Well, if Luke was freaking out the way it seems he was, then someone might have thought it was a good idea to give him some Valium to calm him down.”

“Or to keep him quiet.”

“Possibly.”

“What next?”

“We need to find out where he went. I’m going to talk to Luke’s parents again tomorrow. They might be able to help now that we know a bit more about his movements. I’ll be talking to Lauren Anderson, too, and perhaps Gavin Barlow.”

“Why?”

“Maybe there was still something going on between Luke and Rose, and maybe her father didn’t approve.”

“Enough to kill him?”

“Enough to make it physical. We still can’t say for certain that anyone murdered Luke. Anyway, I’d like to know where they both were the night Luke disappeared. Maybe it was Rose he went to see.”

“Fair enough,” said Banks. “And don’t forget that Martin Armitage was out and about that night, too.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.”

“What’s happened with him, by the way?”

“He appeared before the magistrates this afternoon. He’s out on bail till the preliminary hearing.”

“What about Norman Wells?”

“He’ll mend. When will you be back?”

“Tomorrow or the day after.”

“Getting anywhere?”

“I think so.”

“And what are you up to tonight?”

“School reunion,” said Banks, walking back into the pub. An approaching car seemed to be going way too fast, and Banks felt a momentary rush of panic. He ducked into a shop doorway. The car sped by him, too close to the curb, and splashed water from the gutter over his trouser bottoms. He cursed.