The door opened again and Lane appeared with two pint glasses full of water. ‘Here you are,’ she handed one to Sellers with a new smile. ‘You can put it down anywhere: on the arm of the sofa, on the floor. And please feel free to put your feet up on the sofa if you’d like to. You can remove your shoes if you want – if it would make you more comfortable. It’s up to you!’

‘Thank you.’ Sellers wanted to hold his glass of water in his hands, sit upright and leave his shoes on, but he appreciated the general message: whatever he wanted to do was okay with Lane Baillie.

Whatever Colin Sellers wanted to do had never been okay with anybody before.

‘So, then.’ Lane sat down in the armchair, curling her legs under her body. ‘What brings you here?’

‘I’m one of the Culver Valley detectives working on the Billy Dead Mates investigation. I’m sure you’re sick to death of hearing about it.’

Lane shook her head. ‘Billy … Dead Mates?’

‘It’s all over the news. I assume you’ve been following it, along with the rest of the country.’

‘I’m sorry, I haven’t heard anything about it.’

Sellers laughed. ‘You’re kidding?’

‘No. I don’t read newspapers or watch the news.’

‘Oh. That’s … pretty unusual!’

‘Yes, it is.’ She smiled. ‘Do you keep up to date with the news?’

He was supposed to be interviewing her, not the other way round, but since she sounded genuinely interested … ‘Yeah, pretty much. Depressing as it usually is these days.’

‘But you don’t stop watching? Or reading, or listening?’

‘No. It’s tempting, sometimes. It can get you down.’

‘Yes, that’s what so many people say. I think – I mean, this might not be of interest to you, and I know it’s not what you came here to talk about, so forgive me – but I think a lot of people with social consciences imagine they have a duty to immerse themselves, via the media, in the misery of others less fortunate than themselves. Having a social conscience and caring about others is of course a great thing. But there’s a danger that the misery that can seem to be everywhere will affect people negatively, and – quite understandably – they’ll internalise that negative energy and spread it around, causing more pain and suffering. I believe positive change can only come from positive energy. Meeting new people, seeing that everyone has good in them – which is incredibly obvious when you sit face to face with even the most troubled person and try to help them. I prefer to devote my attention to that instead of the news.’