I’m not sure I agree with his plan but with none of my own, I go along with it.

‘People expect to be asked questions in bars,’ he says, walking away from the fair. ‘They talk more freely with the booze on board.’

‘But it’s only two o’clock. There’ll hardly be anyone in the bar.’

‘We’ll see.’ We walk past a big old red building with a sign proclaiming it to be the local courthouse, and on towards a bar a few streets away.

‘It’s festival day, Becca. There will be people in the bar.’

The grey door of the Goose Inn creaks when Jeff pulls it open. A crowd of people, swallowing beer like it’s the Fourth of July 1776, turn to stare at the new arrivals. The smell of yesterday’s beer lingers amidst the musty scent of age. It reminds me of Mattie’s, only with daylight. The furniture looks like it was picked up at a bring-and-buy sale; nothing matches or looks like it started out life here. Even the customers have a haphazard look about them. They’re odd.

We move to the empty bar stools by the counter and sit down. Everyone is still looking at us.

‘They mustn’t get many outsiders around here,’ Jeff says, looking over the counter, pretending to be interested in what beers are for sale. At least, I hope he’s pretending; I couldn’t go through another night like last night. Eventually a woman comes down to us from the far end of the bar, chewing something, looking like she just got out of bed. She wipes the counter with a cloth she keeps tucked into the top of her jeans.

‘You looking for something?’ she says.

Jeff stalls a bit, inspecting the shelves.

‘Two large beers.’

When the woman moves away to the taps, Jeff notices the fear on my face.

‘Trust me,’ he whispers.

‘You’re not from around here,’ the woman says, putting down the two beers.

‘No, just visiting,’ Jeff says.

‘Anyone in particular?’

‘Not really. Just checking out this beautiful place.’

The beer is cool and refreshing and bound to make me vomit shortly. The woman walks back to a guy at the far end of the bar.

‘What are we going to do?’ I say, leaning in close, noticing Jeff’s bloodshot eyes, smelling last night’s poison ooze from his breath.

‘Well, first thing we’ll do is sit here and drink our beers.’ He nods in the direction of a middle-aged woman who looks half shot, sitting alone near the door, a pack of cigarettes on the table. ‘Then, when that lady goes out for a cigarette, you’re going to join her.’

‘But I don’t smoke.’

‘That doesn’t matter. Just take your drink outside, she won’t notice.’