“OK, I’ll come clean,” he said cheerily. “I want you to stop all the nonsense you’re peddling around about me being behind the arson attack on this place.”

Claudia’s eyes widened slightly, but he put up a hand to let her know he hadn’t finished.

“I get that it’s only rumor at the moment, no one’s actually gone to print with my name—I’d sue if they did—but the nonsense on social media is bringing me the kind of attention I’d rather not have as I try to get my life back on track.”

“But you were behind it,” she stated coldly.

He shook his head. “I know you’re telling yourself that, but that’s just your paranoia at work, and we both know how damaging that can be, don’t we? We have a lot of experience of it, and if you remember it’s usually yourself you end up hurting. But now it’s affecting me. So, as it’s a complete fabrication . . .”

“It’s true,” she snapped.

“. . . and because I can see you’ve made yourself a new life here, I am prepared to disappear for good, even divorce you if that’s what you want, in exchange for a cessation—or denial—of these malicious claims that are extremely annoying and unjustly blackening my name.”

Claudia almost laughed; as if he hadn’t done that all on his own.

Dan said, “She doesn’t need to give you anything in order to get a divorce.”

“And we know you ordered the fire,” Claudia added. She connected with Dan’s presence at last, realizing that she didn’t need to be so afraid. “For all I know, there were a dozen or more people in the chain before it got to the boy who carried it out, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it originated with you.”

He appeared to find this amusing. “You credit me with far more influence than I have,” he informed her, “but even if you were right—and you’re not—you must know by now that you’re never going to make a connection between me and that . . . boy. So, let’s put all this behind us, shall we? You give me your word that there’ll be no more attempts to tie me to your misfortune, and I will divorce you. In fact, I’ll go one better than that, I’ll even find it in my heart to forgive you for abandoning me in my time of need and never coming to visit me in prison.” He looked at Dan. “How does that sound, Mr. Mediator?”