‘My younger brother. I heard he got into a fight in the hall today when he was waiting to be interviewed. Greg was there at the same time and I wanted to talk to him about it. See if he saw what happened.’

‘Of course,’ Joanne said. ‘I could make us some tea while you’re waiting?’

‘Don’t worry. I can do that,’ Caroline immediately said. ‘I know where everything is.’

Joanne, not sure whether to be grateful or annoyed, decided to say nothing. Caroline was obviously trying to claim ownership of Greg’s kitchen, indicating how often she’d stayed here with him. Or perhaps even lived here.

Now the kitchen and every other room in the house, particularly the bedroom, took on a different hue.

Caroline, seemingly oblivious to Joanne’s discomfort, produced a pretty tray (where had she found that?) with a teapot and two china cups and saucers, none of which Joanne had known existed.

Pouring for her, Caroline said, ‘This is the Earl Grey I left in the cupboard. I hope you found it?’

Joanne decided it was time to fight back. ‘Greg makes fresh coffee for us in the morning,’ she said with a smile, ‘and he cooks for us at night.’

Touché.

Caroline accepted this without dispute. ‘Yeah, he’s used to fending for himself and he is a good cook.’

There was a few minutes silence while they sipped and Joanne swithered between wishing Greg would come home, thereby reinstating her as the woman of the house, and hoping he wouldn’t. Something told her he would not be impressed to discover the two of them sitting drinking tea in his kitchen.

Caroline eventually broke the silence.

‘Now the police have confirmed the body as Ailsa’s, you probably should be told more about her.’ She waited as though for permission to go on.

The truth was, Joanne was dying to know more, but wasn’t sure she should say so.

Caroline continued anyway. ‘People felt safe here in Blackrig. Ailsa’s disappearance changed all of that. I had just found out I was pregnant. Greg was so excited about being a dad, and then our world fell apart.’ She looked down at her clasped hands as though remembering. ‘I lost the baby, of course.’ Her voice broke a little. ‘All that worry and trouble. Greg was heartbroken. That’s why he went away.’

Joanne, shocked by such a revelation, tried to cover this by giving a brief nod, as though she already knew that part of the story.