She kept her voice calm and soothing – more practice for those mum-part auditions her agent kept sending her on, even though she’d never had children, or any desire for them. Apparently that was what was available for women her age – parts where she stood in the background supporting others, always stirring something on a stove, or wrapping a scarf around someone’s neck. And not even in a fun strangling way.

Caro could get behind playing a murderer, as long as it was a role where the script cared about what her character wanted, needed, more than what she could do for others.

But today she was still a detective, still Dahlia. And she’d got her first – albeit minor – confession. Felicity had smuggled in banned electronics. It wasn’t much, but it opened the doors for the others to share their small secrets and shames, too, she hoped.

‘Then there was the film panel, and later I met the rest of you for drinks and dinner.’ Felicity looked thoughtful. ‘I suppose I technically could have taken the magnifying glass when we were on the house tour together, and then hidden it when I say I was reading – but my bag was checked with all the others on my way into the house, so where would I have put it? Unless I hid it somewhere else on the house tour and retrieved it later?’

‘And that’s the fun of interrogating other detectives. They work out all the possibilities for you!’ Caro threw the aside to the audience and received a gratifying laugh in return. ‘What about at dinner? Assuming you weren’t the thief, did you see anybody acting suspiciously?’

Felicity pulled a notebook from her bag and flipped through the pages. ‘I’ve been trying to recreate everyone’s movements from dinner. You know, just for investigative practice.’

Her eyes were wide and innocent as she said it, but Caro half expected her to give a knowing wink. Investigative practice indeed.

The Dahlias weren’t the only ones investigating a murder, as well as a theft. That might complicate things.

‘How useful,’ Rosalind said. ‘Anything you’d like to share? From your … notes.’

‘Well, I did see Juliette – the teenage daughter of the house,’ she added, to the audience, ‘sneaking out the front door during dinner, when I went to the bathroom. I think she said she was going to call her boyfriend, but why would she need to do that outside?’

That was interesting – and given the questioning hum around the marquee, others thought so too. It was absolutely the sort of clue that would help Dahlia solve a mystery, although Caro couldn’t see how.