Caro had watched those old Lady Detective movies a dozen times, both before she landed the part and after, in that nervous waiting period before filming started. The period she supposed Posy was in, right now. Had she been re-watching the classics yet?

‘Let’s start with the basics,’ Rosalind said. Even her voice sounded different. More clipped, clear – proper Received Pronunciation, rather than her usual relaxed version of a refined English accent. The sort she trotted out for period dramas and the like. ‘Before you came to Aldermere this weekend, which of the people staying at the house had you met before?’

Caro smiled. A nice, easy question to start them off, but a useful one all the same.

‘Well, I was already quite well acquainted with my wife,’ Harry said, earning a laugh from the crowd that made his cheeks pink. ‘Other than that … we knew Marcus, of course. Been coming to his conventions for years. And Felicity, for the same reason. We’d met Caro once or twice, too, not that I’d expect her to remember us …’

‘Oh, of course I remember!’ Caro lied. ‘Now. Go on. Anyone else?’

Harry shrugged and looked at Heather, who shook her head. ‘That’s about it.’

Rosalind turned to Felicity next. ‘Same as Harry and Heather, really. Oh, and I’d spoken to Clementine on the phone and by email, but we hadn’t actually met in person before this weekend.’

‘Ashok?’ Posy asked, gently. ‘Did you know anybody here?’

‘Not a soul.’ He gave a self-conscious chuckle. ‘I’m actually, well, quite new to the Dahlia fandom, really. But it’s taken over my life over the last year, and I couldn’t miss this chance to actually stay at Aldermere!’

Caro shared a look with Rosalind. Interesting.

‘And Kit?’ Caro asked. ‘How about you?’

Kit leaned back in his seat, his hands folded behind his head. ‘Well, I knew Posy, of course.’

‘We guessed that when we saw you kissing her in the Murder Spiral!’ Harry barked a laugh, and another murmur went up among the audience.

‘That was part of the murder mystery game!’ Posy protested, but she was blushing, which rather ruined things.

‘Of course it was, sweetheart,’ Kit said, so unconvincingly that Caro knew there’d be rumours about the two of them on social media before the panel even finished. ‘Anyway, other than that, I only knew Anton, our director, and our writer, Libby.’

‘Okay, then.’ Rosalind took back the microphone. ‘Next, I’m going to recount the basic events of yesterday, and I’m going to ask you all to jump in if you remember anything unusual about it. Anything you saw, or heard, for instance. Posy, perhaps you might help me?’

Posy leaped to her feet, blinking, as Rosalind motioned to the flipchart and pens on the corner of the stage. Why hadn’t Caro thought of that? It was perfect!