Harry stood and paced the floor with his hands on his hips. The bandage on his head looked stark white against his dark hair. He was dressed in grey cotton trousers and a grey T-shirt and he had shaved. She’d heard that a major philosophy for the rehabilitation of service personnel was to maintain their routine for smart dress. Let your standards drop and it weakens the mind.

‘Harry?’ she said.

He continued pacing.

She wanted to say, ‘I’m here for you, lean on me, I love you’, but she remembered Augusta’s advice: don’t tell him you care, just care. ‘We’d assumed given the attack on the military base that this was all to do with your job, maybe something you were working on or had worked on in the past. But the attack on Julian suggests it may be more personal.’

‘As in?’

Karene shrugged. ‘Augusta says most crimes are motivated by either need or emotion, and that emotions are usually stronger in our private lives. That’s why most murder victims know their killer. Apparently over 60 per cent are married to them.’ She let that sink in for a moment. ‘What can you tell me about Julian?’

Harry stopped pacing and stared out across the garden. ‘He’s a good man … was a good man. Like me, he came from nothing. His mother is my dad’s sister. He’s fourteen years older than me. He learned a trade and built a business while I progressed in the Navy. He retired early to France and since then we’ve seen each other once a year at most. Caroline and I would sometimes visit with the kids in the summer. Occasionally he came home to see his stepdaughter, Clara, but they’d drifted apart recently.’

‘When did he move to France?’

‘Er … four years or so ago. He sold his business and moved out there for a change of pace.’

‘So … would that be eight years ago?’

Harry bowed his head. ‘I suppose it would.’

Karene went to stand alongside him and briefly laid the palm of her hand on his upper arm. ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help and Augusta is the most tenacious and insightful person I know. We’ll find out what’s going on. I promise.’

‘Why would anyone hurt Julian like that? What the hell have I done?’

36

Bloom and Karene arrived at Stanford Hall just after nine a.m. having spent the night in a local hotel. Jameson had left them to dine without him the night before. After yesterday’s altercation, that was fine with Bloom. She was both furious and disgusted by his accusation.