Judy had told us Sean’s filming schedule had been changed. It had been put forward a week and was now over. We were meeting them both for lunch at Crocker’s Folly across Edgware Road in St. John’s Wood. This was policy as well as pleasure, an occasion to remind Sean of all the arrangements. Now there was something we wanted him to do and this would mean his coming out from his passive role. Would he go upstairs and call on Vivien Nyland just before we were due to go downstairs with Andrew and Alison? Distract her so that we could pass down the stairs unimpeded?

Sean was half-asleep. He had been through a grueling week of filming that hadn’t ended until quite late the previous night. His relationship with Judy seemed to be getting serious. She had been down to Lyme Regis to stay with him in his hotel, even though she had seen very little of him between six in the morning and eight at night. I wondered if Silver would say anything to Judy about his discovery. My jealousy of her was past but I knew they had been lovers for a year when they were both nineteen, and I was sure he must have told her about his abduction. But we had all been together no more than five minutes when I saw that he was going to tell her no more. He may even be regretting those earlier revelations. The outcome had affected him very powerfully and his only recourse was silence.

The others must have noticed he was subdued. Or perhaps they were too wrapped up in one another to see anything much outside the bell jar of mutual attraction that enclosed them. Seeing that Silver didn’t speak, I asked Sean if he’d take care of the distraction of Vivien Nyland. He protested that he didn’t know her, had never spoken to her beyond saying hello.

“That doesn’t matter. You can ask to borrow something or complain about the noise from her TV or—and this is better—say you’ve workmen coming in and you hope they won’t object to the hammering.”

Surprisingly, it was Judy who objected on his behalf. “And if you and those people are caught, the police will come and get Sean too. For conspiracy or something.”

“That’s a bit far-fetched, isn’t it?”

“Not really. It’s been bad enough me taking the photos. They could find that out too.”

Sean put an end to this rather sharp exchange by saying he’d think about it. He’d think about it and let us know.

“You’ll remember you’ve got less than forty-eight hours to let us know in, won’t you?” Silver had broken his silence. “Morna will be coming to pick up Jason at ten tomorrow morning.”