But while access to the site was open, it was not permitted to add to it without due registration having taken place. There was a care for privacy that had not at first been apparent. Few surnames were used, and most people employed usernames that concealed their identity. There was nothing concerning anyone in the family still living, which Thea gradually realised was rather odd. Surely the whole venture could not be 239satisfactorily pursued if this was all there was? There had to be a much less accessible website, only open to certain individuals. Hazily, she wondered just how such a thing might work. But the older information was sufficiently interesting for this to be a minor concern. It was full of anecdotes and side notes from diligent researchers who had contacted cousins and lateral branches, and sometimes unearthed diaries and old pictures. One central figure had to be co-ordinating it all, gathering it together and inspiring prodigious efforts. Any archivist would surely salivate at the notion of handling the original material, wherever it was.

It carried Thea through to six o’clock, when she realised she was hungry and thirsty, and in need of human contact. Sid and Dave had tapped on the window beside her at five, and waved goodbye for the day. They showed no sign of wanting to consult her on anything.

She switched on the radio and tuned it to the early evening news. The pips confirmed her timing, and then the top headline seemed to be directed straight at her. ‘Police raids overnight in the area of Cheltenham and South Gloucestershire have significantly extended the investigation into the trade in rare animal products. There is thought to be a firm link with gangs in China, with a great deal of money involved. A statement is expected later this week.’

‘Oh!’ said Thea aloud. For a moment it felt as if the whole matter of Grace’s death was on the verge of solution. Wasn’t it self-evident that she had been somehow connected to one of these Chinese gangs? 240Didn’t that fit perfectly with the few remarks she had made? The fear, the need to stay hidden, the deception she’d experienced, the underlying confidence and even subtle hint of affluence. Unfair as it undoubtedly was, there was a stereotype that insisted that a rich Chinese person, like a rich Russian, was unlikely to have acquired the money by ordinary legal means.

Grace had, it seemed, been driven to an area where pangolin scales had been discovered, by people who had first frightened and then murdered her. Somewhere along the way she must have understood that the truth behind her visit was not what she had believed. And that truth carried a serious threat, the most serious there could be. She had very probably known her life was in danger, from that moment, and gone to considerable lengths to remain safe. And her captors had been clever and persistent and within hours had tracked her down and killed her. This too fitted with the usual image of wicked Chinese gangs. They would have sophisticated electronic devices, surveillance systems, perhaps local agents disguised as ordinary Cotswolds folk. So, did Grace accidentally stumble into the clutches of a rival gang? Or did she possess skills that were needed by the criminals and was lured here under a wholly false pretext? Perhaps she understood Chinese medicine or futuristic methods of preserving body parts. She could have been brought in as a consultant, under the assumption that when she learnt the true nature of those who wanted her, the promise of money would be enough to ensure her co-operation. Or perhaps they’d skipped any sort of enticement, and 241simply threatened her with death if she didn’t do as they asked. It all made enough sense for Thea to believe that her own hypothesis carried quite a healthy proportion of credibility. The quick and skilful method of killing gave it added force. If Grace had simply made her way to Barnsley to visit a penfriend or see at first-hand the famous Arlington Row, almost every detail of Thea’s encounter with her would have been different.