“There was one thing, though.” Amber looked around, even though she had to know they were alone. “It’s just a rumor, but word around town was that this year’s Standedge trip was to be the last for them. This was something Matthew looked forward to every year, was probably mostly why he got that job at the Trust, and now there was a chance it was going to end. I dunno. People are saying that’s why he did it. Hard to argue with ’em.”

Robin braced himself and asked the question. “Do you think Matthew did it?”

Amber looked from him to the photo, and then into the fire. The light danced in her eyes. “What else is there?”

Robin changed tack. “Before the Incident, would you have said Matthew was capable of something like that?”

Amber drew her gaze back to him. “No,” she said definitively. “He was always friendly, a bit too timid for his own good. Well, as I say, he let the others take the reins. He was someone who was happy just to be along for the ride. I wouldn’t have thought he had a bad bone in his body. But, as my dad would say, takes all sorts to make a world, huh? I mean, take that whole thing that happened last year? That guy who locked that television presenter, the old Resident Detective guy, and all those people in that room, forced them to solve a murder or something. Stuff like this happens now, I suppose. Just like my dad said, all sorts.”

Robin nodded. “Thank you, Amber.”

“No worries,” she said. “If you ever need any more information, I’ll do what I can. If I’m not at work here, you can usually find me at the church.”

Robin wondered why she was being so forthcoming. “The church?”

Amber nodded. “I help out there, run some of the groups, keep the place tidy—those kind of things.” She got up and picked up his empty plate. “You have everything you need for now?”

Robin was confused. “Sorry. What do you mean by ‘need’?”

“Your notes,” she said, pointing down to the open notebook. “You’re gonna write a book about the Standedge Five, right?”

Robin was a little taken aback.

And Amber laughed at his face. “Sorry. You’re Robin Ferringham.”

“Oh,” Robin said, never actually having been recognized before, “have you read my book?”

Amber almost managed to look apologetic. “Nope. I can use Google, though. You told Jimbo your name—I needed it for the reservation. Don’t see many Ferringhams knocking about and renting rooms around here. So your second book, it’s going to be about the Standedge Five?”

Robin talked before his thoughts caught up. “Yes.”