‘When did you realize that Margaret was still living in the same house?’ Joe thought Stuart seemed almost relaxed now. The relief of sharing his secret had eased the tension.

‘Not until Kate introduced us. A sunny lunchtime in the garden. When I found out that Kate lived in Harbour Street I was intrigued. It seemed some sort of omen when it turned out to be the same house. Perhaps I was hoping to regain that youthful excitement. And I have captured it, in a way, though the house was unrecognizable. She’d talked about Margaret, the friend who helped her in the kitchen, but of course I didn’t make any connection. The woman I’d known was called Anna, and I’d last seen her more than thirty years before.’

‘But you recognized Margaret?’

‘Oh yes, immediately.’ He leaned forward across the scratched table to make a point. ‘She was still a very beautiful woman.’

‘And did she recognize you?’

He thought for a moment before answering. ‘I think she did. I hope so. I had the sense that she was giving Kate and me her blessing. We never talked about our former lives, even on the few times that we found ourselves alone.’

Joe drove Stuart back to Mardle. He was glad of an excuse to leave Kimmerston and, like Vera, he thought that Mardle was the centre of the investigation. There was still no conversation. Booth directed him to a small development on the edge of the town, a conversion of farm outbuildings where he had an apartment. The place was on the west side of the town and Joe thought that it would be just a short walk across open fields to the Haven. When the car stopped Booth stayed still for a moment and turned to Joe, wanting reassurance. ‘I suppose this makes me a suspect. Because Margaret could have told Kate about my past, I do have a motive of a sort.’

Joe wasn’t sure what to say. ‘We keep an open mind,’ he said at last. ‘We always do. Everyone who knew Margaret Krukowski is a potential suspect. But we’re grateful for the information. It’s been very useful.’

Stuart frowned. ‘Do you think I should tell Kate? I suppose if there’s a court case it might come out. It would look better if I told her now.’ He paused. ‘I did wonder if she’d guessed that I knew Margaret. I’d kept a photo of her in my wallet. Margaret gave it to me as a memento when I told her that I wouldn’t be visiting her any more. It’s gone. I thought perhaps Kate had found it, but rooting through other people’s possessions isn’t her style. It must just have fallen out one day.’ He stopped suddenly and seemed terribly sad that he no longer had anything to remember Margaret by.