She hesitated as she thought about it. “I think he used to work in a shop down by the harbour, selling fishing tackle. He was the manager, if I remember the stories rightly. He used to travel a fair bit to buy new stock as his boss, old Mr Capshaw, didn’t keep so well.”

Mum again dropped her voice and I had no idea why. “I heard that it was on one of his business trips that he met Lily.”

She sounded puzzled. “Nonna used to say she seemed the complete opposite to him though. Lord knows what she saw in him.” She murmured away again to herself. “Don’t know what happened to her. She hasn’t been heard of for years.”

“She’s still living around here, Mum,” I confirmed.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” I then went on to explain about coming across Lily Cruickshank when Harley ran off after the fox.

“Goodness me,” remarked Mum, incredulous. “I thought she had moved away, right out of the area, or had passed on. Nobody saw her or heard from her again after Lily’s Loaves floundered.”

“The business floundered? Are you sure? She just didn’t decide to sell up?” From what I read in the newspaper article and the little I’d gleaned from talking to Lily, she didn’t come across as the quitting type. To someone like her, I would have thought failure wouldn’t have been an option.

“That was the story going around at the time. The rumours were that Lily’s Loaves was a bit of a five-minute wonder. It started off with a flourish and then when the local supermarket started stocking fresh breads and cakes at cheaper prices, some folks started saying Lily couldn’t keep up with the competition. Others said that husband of hers had been syphoning money out of the shop for his gambling addiction, and that he didn’t like how successful the business was becoming.”

“What, he was jealous of his own wife?” I gasped, struggling to comprehend it.

“Yes. According to the gossip your Nonna heard back in the day, a lot of folks round here said she was making a name for herself; he didn’t like it and so he forced her to close down Lily’s Loaves and he put out a story that the business wasn’t doing so well and so they were cutting their losses and moving on.” Mum tutted. “Such a shame. The locals said she was so enthusiastic and put her heart and soul into it too

“So… what happened?”

“My goodness, Leonie,” laughed my mum down the line. “What’s with all the interest in Lily Cruickshank?”

“I’m looking into a story,” I answered. “To do with an old deserted house. I think the place is linked to Lily in some way.”

“Well, that is a surprise,” breathed Mum down the line. “Where is she living now then?”