‘John had valerian capsules, chamomile tea and three different types of antihistamines from the grocery store. Those are all sleeping aids. Come to think of it, the litre bottle of Wild Turkey could probably be considered a sleeping aid too.’

‘John didn’t need sleeping aids. I would have noticed. I slept next to the man.’

‘Would you, though? Would he know if it was the other way around?’

How well can you really ever know anyone? Kate thought.

‘So, what are you saying?’ Kate asked. ‘You think he was having nightmares again?’

He nodded, drank, and said, ‘I think that’s why he bought those aids, and I think that’s why he bought the bug zappers.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I think that, for whatever reason, the Visitor came back.’

Kate shivered. She was suddenly cold. It might have been that the open window had let all the warm air out, or it might have been that Fisher’s words had sobered her up. ‘Even if that were true, what’s that got to do with Belport?’

He stood up, using the wall for balance, and shut the window. He necked the last of his Scotch and placed the empty glass on the bedside table.

‘It’s late,’ he said. ‘Mind if we call it a night?’

‘Fisher…’

‘I’m tired, Kate. Just tired, that’s all.’

16

THE WIFE

Ray was gone by the time Abby got up. There was a vague husband-shaped indent on his side of the bed. She pulled on a pair of day-old leggings, then tiptoed downstairs to make coffee and get the fire started.

The phone started to ring the moment she set foot in the kitchen, as if it had been waiting for its cue.

‘Hello?’

‘Morning, love. I didn’t wake you, did I?’

It was Henry Biller, no doubt calling from his cramped, windowless office outside the Buy & Bye receiving area.

‘No,’ she said, flicking on the percolator. ‘What’s up?’

‘I need an extra pair of hands at the shop today, and since you’re looking for more shifts, I thought of you first. The cops are setting up something called an information caravan outside the community centre for people to come forward with information about the murder, which means two things: they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, and Bay Street’s gonna be a carnival.’

The percolator gurgled and filled the kitchen with the smell of fresh coffee. There were noises in the hall. The kids were waking up and getting ready for school.

‘I know I asked for the extra work, Biller, but I’ve got a lot going on right now. Is there anyone else who could cover?’

‘Danny’s staying at his girlfriend’s place on the mainland, Enza is about as useful as tits on a bull, and Marge doesn’t wear her hearing aid in the mornings, so she won’t hear the phone.’