‘You haven’t told me about Clovis, either, for that matter.’208

‘We met him back in May, when his father died. Drew did the funeral.’

‘And?’ demanded Jocelyn impatiently.

‘Nothing, really. He’s nice.’

‘Thea, stop it. He’s gorgeous. You can’t be such an old married woman that you can’t see that. There you were, standing in the road with him, two of the most attractive people in the country, and nothing was happening. It was unnatural. He’s not a long-lost brother of ours, is he? Even then, I doubt if that would stop me.’

‘I told you – I was quite smitten to start with,’ Thea said. ‘Just an automatic hormonal thing, I suppose. At that point I tried to persuade myself he was a rude and possibly violent character with nothing to redeem him, but that didn’t last long. It’s the way he looks at you. Eye contact can be insanely powerful.’

‘I’ll have to take your word for that. I seem to have missed out somewhere. I remember you going on about Mr Lodge at school – the way he looked right into your eyes all the time he was talking to you. He never did it to me, I have to say.’

‘I was his special favourite,’ said Thea complacently.

‘You were the prettiest girl in the school, that’s why. I don’t know why I haven’t hated you all my life.’

‘Yes, well, now he wants to play the boy detective and help me solve this murder.’

Jocelyn made a sceptical face. ‘Does he indeed? And why is that, I wonder?’

‘I’m not sure. He did sort of hint at ulterior motives. Something to do with rare animals. He’s got this high-powered 209girlfriend called Jennifer, who works for charities. Maybe he wants to impress her somehow.’

‘By spending time with a married woman?’

‘By showing how clever and brave he is. By trying to share in her interests.’

‘Oh. Right. So can we have some coffee and toast or something and then I’ll go. You should phone Drew. Don’t let him think you’ve forgotten about him. And for heaven’s sake don’t let him find out you’re seeing the lovely Clovis while you’re here all on your own. I was wrong before – it would only cause trouble if he knew about it.’

‘I won’t. If you don’t tell him, nobody else is going to, are they?’

‘Let’s hope not.’

She waited until Jocelyn had been gone for fifteen minutes and then made the call to Drew, having come to the conclusion that he had not really meant it when he told her to skip a day or two, if there was nothing urgent to report. There was too much mystery circling around the Slocombe household for her to stay silent. She used the landline. It was nearly half past eight – a time when the children would normally be in bed, baths and stories all finished with. But if it was still under way, she didn’t want his warbling mobile to intrude and lead to a prolonged exchange with Stephanie and Timmy that would probably delay their getting off to sleep. Nor did she want her young stepdaughter to pick up the call.210