The man was at the bottom of the chasm.

Chapter Twenty-Three

THE SUN BEAT down on Anna’s shoulders as she slid a small case into the boot of her car, smiling to herself. Tomorrow would have been Spencer’s thirty-fifth birthday, and this evening she’d be installed in a bungalow in Camber Sands for two whole nights. Their bungalow. She was almost disappointed it had been renovated by the new owners. The details on the website she’d booked through cited features like a tumble dryer, Wi-Fi and a log burner. She doubted that this time the electricity would cut out or that the plumbing would creak. Still, it would be a chance to remember Spencer in her own way, free from any interference, and it looked like the weather was going to be glorious. She couldn’t have planned it better.

Just one more hurdle to get through before that was possible: the special Barry Sunday lunch Gayle had planned. Anna was still reeling from the news that Teresa and Scott had been going to lunch with her in-laws fortnightly, as if nothing had changed, but she wasn’t going to think about that today. She wasn’t even going to mention it, because she was dreaming of warm night breezes, cool water lapping at her bare toes, and silky sand rumpled and creased by an outgoing tide.

One lunch was all she had to get through and at least it was at The Cinnamon Café instead of at Gayle and Richard’s.

This is just the prologue, she told herself as she pulled into the restaurant’s car park and found a space next to Scott and Teresa’s car. The main event is later. Let everything slide off you for the next hour or two, the way Teresa does, and then you’ll be on your way.

To be honest, the change of location was a breath of fresh air. Anna hadn’t realized how stale it had all been getting at Gayle and Richard’s Sunday after Sunday, how stuck in a rut they’d become. When she greeted her in-laws, they were led to a circular table – no possibility of them taking their usual seats – and the excellent, innovative Indian cuisine they ordered seemed to put them all into a good mood, even Gayle, and if that hadn’t done the trick, she could always have cooed over her new grandson, who was sleeping soundly in his pram next to the table.

When coffee was served, Anna began counting the seconds until she could walk out of the restaurant door. All she could think about was the overnight case sitting inside the boot of her car, which was probably why she missed Gayle putting a large, gold-embossed folder on the table, until she coughed to get everyone’s attention.

‘I decided to get a little gift for you all to mark what would have been Spencer’s birthday – something special.’ Gayle patted the folder, then opened it and passed large cards to both Scott and Anna.

Anna recognized the thick white card and gold scrolling as the sort of thing professional photographers used for protecting prints and enlargements. Had Gayle got them all a photo of Spencer? Goodness. That was actually very thoughtful of her. ‘Thank you so much,’ she said with real warmth as she opened the card to reveal the picture. She could take this with her to Camber Sands this afternoon and stand it on the mantelpiece.