Harry came downstairs. “A woman called Jenny Leonard called you,” I said. “She’ll call back later.”

“Who?”

I repeated the name. “Don’t you know her?”

“Never heard of her,” he said easily. “What did she want?”

“No idea.”

He shrugged. “What are you up to today, honey?”

Now it was my turn to hesitate. “I’m not sure. This and that. Plenty of work to be getting on with.”

“Don’t work too hard,” he said, hugging me close. “There are two of you to think of now.”

•   •   •

The second he left the house, I withheld my phone number and called Harry’s office. I hadn’t called him on his office number for years; I’d always called him on his mobile when he was at work.

“Hello, Harry Sheridan’s office.” The woman on the phone sounded young and educated. Cheerful. My stomach tightened with nerves. What was I doing?

“Hello, could I speak to Mr. Sheridan, please?”

“I’m sorry, he’s out of the office today on business. Can I take a message for him?”

I thought fast. “Is that Ruby?”

“No, this is Sarah Armstrong.”

“Oh, I wondered if Ruby was around. I wanted to ask her something.” I had absolutely no idea what I would say to her; I just needed to hear her voice.

“Ruby no longer works here,” Sarah said. “I’m Mr. Sheridan’s PA now. Can I help?”

Interesting, I thought. He never told me that.

“No,” I said. “No thanks. I’ll call him tomorrow.”

She started to say something, but I ended the call and called Human Resources.

“Hello,” I said, then lied through my teeth. “I’m Susan Forrest and I’ve just interviewed Ruby Dean for a job. I forgot to ask her start and end dates with you. Could you let me have them, please?”

The man who answered the phone sounded very young. I knew most of the staff working at Sheridan’s and tried to remember what Harry had said about HR. And then I remembered there was an intern who’d started working there in June.

“She’s not on our records,” he said. “She was employed through an agency. I think it was Mersey Recruitment; that’s the agency we usually use. I’d have to ask Finance for the exact dates.” He hesitated. “I’m not meant to give out information like that over the phone.”

I had a strong suspicion that I’d get more out of this young man if he didn’t speak to anyone else first.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” I said. “I can call Ruby later, but I know she’s driving at the moment. She’s on her way to London for a couple of days. I just wondered if you can remember when she actually left so that I can complete this form.”

“Oh, I can tell you that. She left on Friday, June twenty-first.”