“Liqueurs, too. You were really pushing the boat out.”

“I’m afraid we both got a bit upset. Over Father. Lauren had paid a brief visit home at half-term and he hadn’t recognized her. I know alcohol doesn’t help solve problems, but one does tend to reach for it in times of trouble.”

“Of course,” said Annie. “So you went to bed around what time?”

“Me? I’m not sure. It’s a bit of a blur. Probably around midnight.”

“And your sister?”

“I don’t know how late she stayed up.”

“But she did stay all night?”

“Of course.”

“How do you know?”

“I remember going to the toilet once. You have to go through the living room. She was asleep on the sofa then.”

“What time was that?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t look at my watch. Dark, though.”

“But she could have been gone for a few hours and returned, couldn’t she?”

“I’d have heard her.”

“Are you certain? If you’d had that much to drink you probably slept quite heavily.”

“Don’t forget, we both had too much to drink.”

“Did she receive any phone calls during the evening?”

“No.”

“What time did she leave?”

“About eleven o’clock the following morning.”

“It must have been a bit of a rough morning for you at work, after all that drink. Or did you take the day off?”

“I’m presently unemployed, if it’s any of your business. And I can handle the drink. I’m not an alcoholic, you know.”

“Of course not.” Annie paused for a moment. “Did you ever get any hints that Lauren’s relationship with Luke might have been a bit more than the normal teacher-pupil one?”

“I certainly did not.”

“She never talked about him in an affectionate way?”

“I’ve had quite enough of this,” Vernon said. “It’s one thing checking up on times, but quite another to suggest that my sister had some sort of affair with this boy.” He stood up. “Look, I’ve told you what you want to know. Now why don’t you just go and leave me alone.”

“What’s wrong, Mr. Anderson?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“You seem a bit agitated, that’s all.”

“Well, wouldn’t you feel agitated if someone came into your house and started flinging accusations around?”

“What accusations? I’m simply trying to make certain that your sister didn’t see Luke Armitage the night he was killed. Can’t you see how important this is, Vernon? If she did see him, he might have told her something. She might have had some idea of where he was going, who he was seeing.”

“I’m sorry. I still can’t help. Lauren was here all night.”

Annie sighed. “All right, then. Just one more thing before I leave you in peace.”

“What?”

“I understand you have a criminal record.”

Vernon reddened. “I wondered when that would come out. Look, it was a long time ago. I forged my boss’s signature on a check. I’m not proud of it. It was a stupid thing to do, okay, but I was desperate. I paid the price.”