‘And presumably this isn’t your real address,’ Cooper had said.

And Angie had laughed. ‘That isn’t even my name now. I changed it some time ago. The house was used as a squat, but the owners evicted everyone months ago.’

And because of his refusal to be involved in that scheme to prevent Diane from finding her sister, the two women had finally been re-united and had ended up living together for months at Diane’s place in Grosvenor Avenue. Cooper still had no idea whether Diane knew the full picture. Or ever would.

And the odd thing was, Diane Fry had been the bane of his life ever since her arrival in Derbyshire. She was the newcomer who had rejected his attempts at friendship, she was the woman who’d got the promotion he’d thought was his own. She was the supervisor who made him feel he never did anything right, who scoffed at his background and his way of life. She was the woman who looked at him as if he’d mortally offended her at some time, perhaps just by being who he was.

Yes, she was all of those things. He surely had every reason to hate her. Yet, when it came to the point, Cooper realized that he didn’t want her to leave. Her departure would create a strange, inexplicable gap in his life that he couldn’t imagine being able to fill in any other way.

‘Yes, I’ll speak to her,’ he said.

Liz nodded. ‘I think you should. You’re the closest thing she has to a friend, you know, Ben.’

‘You’re kidding.’

But as soon as he said it, Cooper knew she was right. He couldn’t think of a single person who was close to Diane Fry. Some had tried. In fact, he’d tried himself, for a while. But Fry was the sort of person who didn’t want friendship. If asked, she would say she could manage without it. He could almost hear her saying it now.

He looked at Liz. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

‘Good.’

Liz had made a special effort tonight. Her hair was brushed back, and she’d applied touches of make-up that transformed her normal healthy bloom. Although Cooper was no judge, the glitter of her bracelet looked expensive.

He had a sudden feeling of panic that he hadn’t been treating Liz well enough. And here he was, expecting her to sit in the bar of the Hanging Gate with him. She hadn’t seemed to demand any more, but seeing her tonight, he had a nagging suspicion of a dangerous gulf between them that he’d been ignoring. What, after all, did he really know about her?

Liz’s green eyes seemed to mock him, as if she was reading his thoughts. Was his face so transparent, that everyone could do that?

But then her eyes slipped past him, and Cooper turned. His sister had arrived.