Suze is playing my assistant, in an all-black outfit with fake spectacles. Her hair is in a sleek ponytail and she’s got just a slash of red lipstick, which Danny says is definitely the “French art assistant” look.

I head to the door of the RV and look around at the eager, hopeful faces. “Wish us luck!”

Alicia isn’t with us anymore, obviously. I have no idea what she did last night. Called another limo service, I expect, and went back to L.A. (She left some things in the RV, and Danny was all for making a bonfire of them, but we’ve decided to send them back with a dignified note.) Over supper last night, I explained to Mum and Janice about how Alicia and her husband had been trying to rip off both Tarkie and Suze and how evil she was. Whereupon they both instantly said that they’d suspected she was up to something all along, and they’d felt it in their bones, and what a good job they’d warned me about her!

I mean, honestly.

“Becky, what if you’re arrested?” says Janice in a sudden panic. “We’ve already had one run-in with the police.”

“I won’t be arrested!” I scoff. “It’s not against the law to impersonate people.”

“Yes, it is!” says Luke, smacking a hand against his forehead. “Jesus, Becky. It’s fraud.”

Luke’s always so literal.

“Well, OK, maybe in some cases. But this isn’t fraud,” I say firmly. “It’s a quest for the truth. Anyone would understand that, even a policeman. And I’ve dressed up now; I can’t bottle out. See you later.”

“Wait!” calls Luke. “Remember, if there isn’t any housekeeper or household staff, if your phone loses signal, if anything feels wrong, you leave.”

“Luke, it’ll be perfectly safe!” I say. “This is a friend of my dad’s, remember?”

“Hmm.” Luke doesn’t look impressed. “Well, you be careful.”

“We will. Come on, Suze.”

We hurry down the steps of the RV and toward Raymond’s ranch. Luke drives off to hide the RV out of sight around the next bend. As we approach the massive gates, I start to feel quite severe jitters, but I’m not going to mention them to Suze. She’ll only say, Let’s not do it, then. And I really, really want to do this. It’s our last chance.

Plus…there’s more to it than that. Putting this plan into action, even if it is a bit ridiculous, I feel like I’ve come alive. I feel dynamic. And I think it’s the same for Suze. She’s still in a real state—she hasn’t heard anything from Tarkie, or about Owl’s Tower, or anything. But it’s like channeling her energies into this is making her feel better.

“Come on!” I clasp Suze’s hand briefly as we approach. “We can do this! You went to drama school, remember? If I get in trouble, you take over.”

The gates to the ranch are vast and wooden, and I count three cameras trained on us. It’s all a bit intimidating, but I remind myself that I’m Pauline Audette and head confidently to the intercom panel. I press the entry button and wait for someone to reply.