‘That’s what we’ve been wondering,’ said Maude. She leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘She says she wants to go somewhere with a bit more life, so we’ve taken her on a couple of trips out to make her feel better, but she’s still insisting she wants to leave Shirehampton. Josie asked whether it was to do with that officer, and she said the officer was the straw that broke the camel’s back.’

A frown creased Olivia’s brow. ‘But that happened ages ago and she was acquitted, so why would she still want to leave?’

Josie looked at Maude who nodded approvingly.

‘We reckon it’s summat to do with Ralph,’ said Josie, ‘because whenever we mention his name, she rolls her eyes or gets up and leaves the room …’

‘And her face dropped when she heard you were back,’ Maude added.

‘Me?’ said Olivia, her voice full of astonishment. ‘What’ve I done?’

‘Nothing!’ said Josie. ‘As I said, we think it’s something to do with Ralph. Everyone knows how he keen he is on you, which is why I think she’s treating you the same as she does him.’

Olivia’s shoulders sagged as a thought occurred to her. ‘You don’t think he’s been mean to her again, do you? Only I remember the day they came back, and Beth was quieter than I thought she’d be, but Ralph was his usual self, quite upbeat, and I know how horrible he can be when he talks about women being free and easy. He might not have meant to have upset her, but you know what fellers can be like – speak first, think later!’

Josie looked at Maude who shot her a warning glance, but Josie continued anyway. ‘I know we all said we believed Beth when she said she wasn’t a maneater, but I’m not so sure.’ She went on quickly as she saw a doubtful look cross Olivia’s face, ‘We know she had her sights set on Ralph from the moment she clapped eyes on him, and that you two only became friends because you …’ she sought the right words, ‘… embellished the truth, which got her off the hook. I reckon she spun you a yarn to make herself look better and we all fell for it.’

‘What are you saying?’ said Olivia, although she had a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew exactly what her friend was driving at.

‘I’m saying, I think she tried to kiss Ralph or to win his favour after the inquest, and we all know how Ralph feels about women like that, so we know he’d have turned her down flat, which must be why she gets annoyed when we mention his name, and she doesn’t like being around you because she feels guilty.’

‘Perhaps you should ask Ralph if anything happened,’ said Maude. ‘Because you deserve to know if you’re lying with wolves.’