There was a Wikipedia entry about the band, which Gemma read through – a long list of chart singles and albums, the various changes of line-up after Meredith left suddenly in 1995, links to articles endlessly discussing the reasons why she might have quit so abruptly, statements from a spokesperson from her record company saying that she had left the country indefinitely for ‘personal reasons’. There were also a lot of photos and reports of an incident in which Meredith had had paint thrown over her; Gemma made a mental note to speak to her about it. Nobody seemed to have made a connection between this and the abduction, three years later. She clicked back to the Google search results, and something caught her eye – a link from a site called TMZ, which Gemma knew was a celebrity gossip site: ‘The Mystery of Merry Heather – Solved at Last?’

Her breath caught in her throat. How had nobody spotted this? Clicking on the article, she saw an old photo of Meredith, much younger and thinner, and in full stage make-up, accepting a BRIT Award, with an inset video still of a smarmy-looking man. The banner underneath read: ‘Breaking News – Record Company Exec Iain McKinnon Speaks Out.’ She clicked on the video.

‘I can’t say much,’ said this Iain bloke self-importantly, looking like he was dying to say everything. ‘Just that I have exclusive information that Merry Heather has been back in the UK for some time, living a very different life in rural Surrey, and currently considering a summer reunion with Cohen. Obviously this is most exciting, but I’m not at liberty to disclose the details until contracts have been finalised. It would be Cohen’s first performance in twenty years, and their first with the original line-up in over twenty-five. I’m sure Merry is dying to get back in the spotlight again! Working in a gift shop in a stately home is very far from what she does best.’

A brief shadow crossed his face as if he knew he’d said too much, and the interviewer, off-camera, pounced, demanding, ‘She works in a shop? In a stately home? Merry Heather? Which stately home? Has she said why she left the band so suddenly all those years ago?’

Iain McKinnon smirked guiltily and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘As I’m sure you appreciate, I can’t divulge that information. Merry’s privacy is very important to us.’

The video ended abruptly, and Gemma sat back on her pillows, bewildered. A reunion? That couldn’t be right, surely. The thought of Meredith on stage again was almost laughable. The woman couldn’t even bear to mention the band, let alone want to rejoin it.