‘You don’t know what harassment is. Not yet.’

Fry drove straight to Derwent Court. She was not surprised to get no answer from Maggie’s apartment. But even here there should be a next-door neighbour with an interest in what went on. They were useful people. She tried the next apartment and introduced herself to a lady called Mrs Dean, who seemed quite happy to talk about Maggie Crew.

‘I don’t know where she is today,’ she said. ‘I thought she’d started going back into her office to work.’

‘Yes, she had,’ said Fry.

‘I am glad. It’s for the best, really. It’ll help take her mind off things.’

‘But she’s not in the office today.’

‘Isn’t she? She went out at her usual time.’

‘In her car?’

‘I imagine so. I don’t know.’

‘On her own?’

‘She’s always on her own these days.’

‘Was there a time when she wasn’t?’ asked Fry.

‘Well, none of us has been in Derwent Court more than a year or two, just since the place was converted. I don’t know anything about her life before that.’

Fry looked at Mrs Dean’s apartment. It looked completely different from Maggie Crew’s, though the layout must have been identical. Instead of being cold and unwelcoming, this one was full of deep-pile carpets and light and mirrors, and a hundred little personal items.

‘She has no family who come to see her, has she?’ said Fry. ‘Any children?’

‘No, no children. She has never married, as far as I know. But there’s a sister.’

‘Of course, yes. Does she come?’

‘Not recently. Some people just can’t deal with it – with physical disfigurement, I mean. They’re frightened they’re going to say the wrong thing, or that they won’t be able to avoid staring. I’d like to think I wouldn’t be that way, if it happened to one of my friends. I’d want to support them, wouldn’t you?’

Fry searched her heart and wasn’t sure. Mrs Dean seemed to pick up on her hesitation.

‘Mind you, it is pretty awful to have to look at, isn’t it? I can see that it might put you off if you were invited round for tea. Are you sure you won’t sit down?’ said Mrs Dean.

‘No, thank you.’

‘Still. You’d think the sister would make an effort to get here. It’s at times like these that you need your family most, not just in the good times. Don’t you agree?’

‘Of course,’ said Fry, though she was hardly in a position to know. ‘So you haven’t seen Miss Crew since this morning?’

‘I heard her go out about ten o’clock,’ said Mrs Dean.

‘You didn’t actually see her?’