“I know all about you,” said Sarah. Not surprisingly, there was nothing of the local accent in her tones. She might never have been north of Ascot. “You’ve been to see my father. How absurd of you to think he could have anything to do with this. I don’t know what you think I could tell you either. I was here all the time on Saturday. I saw no one apart from Miss Callaghan. She came over at tea-time with some sandwiches and fruit for me. Anyone else who knocked, I just ignored. There was no one I wanted to see. Except possibly my father, but he wasn’t here.”

“You must have been very upset by what happened in the morning,” Cordelia probed.

The girl acknowledged this sally with raised eyebrows. “Of course I was. It’s not terribly thrilling to have people attacking you because of something your father is quite properly doing in the course of his business. Especially when you’re supposedly among friends. All the same, it was quite a useful experience in one sense. It’s helpful to know who your real friends are.”

“Like Caroline Barrington?” asked Lindsay quickly.

“Why her in particular?”

“Well, she did call round to see if you felt like going to dinner.”

“Did she? I don’t remember. One or two people came by. As I said, there was no one I wanted to see. I locked the door and only let Miss Callaghan in because I felt it might be rather more trouble not to.” The girl’s hostility was now becoming palpable.

“So you neither saw nor heard anything that might have any bearing on Lorna Smith-Couper’s murder?”

“Correct. Now, if that’s all, I have things to do. I was about to go down to the gym to run through some floor work before you arrived. Do you mind if I get on with that now?”

“If you don’t mind, there are a couple more questions I’d like to ask,” said Lindsay pleasantly.

The girl’s eyebrows flickered and she threw a look of contempt at Lindsay. “If you’ve time to waste, go ahead and ask.”

“You told the police that Miss Callaghan took you to Music 2 on Saturday morning?”

“Correct. I told them that because that’s exactly what she did.”

“Any idea why she took you there?”

“She was trying to be helpful. I was very upset, as I’m sure you understand. Miss Callaghan had the sense to see that the best thing for me was to be somewhere quiet till I felt all right again. She said, ‘Let’s go to Music 2 because I’m sure it will be empty. It’s been spruced up for our celebrity guest, so no one will be using it today.’”

Lindsay’s eyes bored into the girl. “Are you sure she said that the room had been set aside for Lorna?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”