Callum arrived at the police station just after eleven. ‘Will this take long? I have a busy clinic.’

‘Shouldn’t do,’ the desk sergeant said without looking up. ‘Take a seat.’

He was about to demand they deal with him right away when Nick and Claire were shown back out into the waiting area by a young officer. Claire didn’t look great, he thought – grey circles beneath her eyes, her hair all over the place.

‘Hey, love,’ she said, coming up and giving him a quick squeeze. ‘They’ve just interviewed Nick.’ She sighed, sounding worn out. ‘He couldn’t really tell them much more than they already know. And don’t worry, the fingerprinting doesn’t take long,’ she said, sensing his impatience. ‘You’ll be back at the hospital in no time.’

‘I have a clinic,’ he said, glancing at his watch. The more he thought about it, the more he realised it was actually all Claire’s fault. While that stupid girl Rain had been nothing but trouble since she’d arrived, the bottom line was that Claire should have been in his bed. She should have been there with him. He took her by the elbow, guiding her over to the window away from Nick. ‘Under the circumstances, I think it’s best if you send everyone home.’ He spoke quietly, glancing back over his shoulder.

‘What are you talking about, Cal?’ She shrugged out of his grip, frowning and looking up at him. ‘I can’t possibly tell them to go. They’re my friends and family.’

Callum swallowed. He would have to make it clearer. ‘Claire, you need to get rid of everyone. Today.’

‘Get rid?’ Claire said. ‘You expect me to send Maggie home without her daughter?’

‘Keep your voice down,’ Callum replied, folding his arms. ‘Look, love, I didn’t want to have to tell you this but…’ He trailed off, trying to sound calmer. ‘Maggie came on to me.’ He watched the shock spread over her face. ‘I know, I know, I’m as uncomfortable about it as you are. But I have to be honest with you.’ He paused as she took it in.

‘No, Cal, Maggie would never do that.’ Claire’s eyes were full of disbelief. ‘You must be mistaken. I know she’s a bit crazy sometimes, but she’d never do anything to hurt me.’

‘I wouldn’t have said anything at all if all this other mess hadn’t blown up. I would have just let it go.’

‘I don’t know what to say. Are you sure?’ Claire rubbed her temples.

‘Maggie’s inappropriate behaviour tells me that Rain has most likely done the same and hooked up with some lad, going off with him without bothering to tell anyone. The pair of them have no morals or values. They’re as bad as each other. It’s all a waste of police time.’

‘What do you mean by “came on to you”?’ Claire had tears in her eyes.

‘The details are unimportant, love. Let’s just end this fiasco now.’

‘But they’re important to me.’ Her voice wavered. ‘I need to know, Cal.’

‘She’s always had a thing for me, you know that.’

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘She tried to kiss me. Remember on the first night, I went down to the cellar to get wine? She was on the steps when I came back up. It was dark. When I rejected her, she put her hand on my… you know, down there.’

Claire covered her mouth, a puzzled look on her face. ‘She was going down to the cellar? But anyway, she wouldn’t do that, Cal. Not Maggie.’

‘It’s true, love. When I told her no, she threatened to tell you that I’d come on to her instead.’

Claire looked into his eyes as he took her gently by the shoulders, planting a kiss on her forehead.

‘Everything will be OK,’ he said. ‘But let’s do the right thing and send everyone home.’ He pulled her close again, her head resting against the pounding knot of his heart. A moment later, he was called through by an officer. As he was being led off, Callum glanced back over his shoulder and saw his wife leaving the station with Nick.

---

‘Dr Rodway,’ PC Wyndham said with a small sigh. ‘I understand your need to get back to the hospital, but this won’t take long. And right now, time is of the essence.’

Another officer had already explained that they were taking elimination prints from everyone as a precaution. A young PC took the thumb of his right hand and rolled it over an ink pad. ‘I have two operations scheduled this afternoon,’ he said, glowering at the mess. ‘This stuff had bloody well better come off.’

‘Just relax, Dr Rodway,’ the officer said. ‘Let me do the rolling and pressing.’

Callum’s hand stiffened in protest. ‘It’s Mr Rodway.’

‘How long have you known Maggie Carr and her daughter, Mr Rodway?’ PC Holt asked, while his other hand was being done.

‘We’ve been over this already,’ he said. ‘I’ve known Maggie since she was a child, but only met the girl two days ago.’

‘You’re ten years older than Claire and her friends, is that right?’

‘Correct.’ Callum failed to see the importance.

‘So when Claire was a child of eight or nine, you were a grown man of eighteen.’

‘Yes,’ Callum replied curtly. ‘If you call eighteen being a grown man.’

‘Didn’t it seem a bit odd?’ he went on. ‘Hanging out with children?’

‘I didn’t hang out with children. I knew of Claire and her friends and their families, that’s all. I went away to medical school, and when I returned to the area years later, I met Claire in an entirely different context. She was an adult by then.’

‘I see. Your wife told me that you used to babysit some of the village children when you were a teenager?’

‘Once or twice,’ Callum said, feeling a sweat break out on his forehead.

‘Who did you babysit?’

Callum shrugged, trying to remember. ‘A couple of local kids. Plus Claire and her brother Jason.’

‘And Eleanor? Did you ever babysit Eleanor Lucas?’

‘Yes, but she was always in bed. I never saw her.’

‘Can you tell me why your wife organised this reunion?’ PC Wyndham asked.

‘Her father is ill,’ he replied. ‘He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few months ago and Claire thought it would be good for him if old friends and family came to stay. She hoped it would help with his memory.’

‘And do you think it could help, from a medical point of view?’

‘Yes, it’s called reminiscence therapy and can be effective for some patients. I have occupational therapists on the brain injury ward who use similar techniques.’

‘Such as?’

‘Playing a patient’s favourite music from the past can be helpful, looking at old photographs, talking about childhood events, remembering their careers, that kind of thing. Family members can help with this too. In fact, it’s more effective coming from them.’

‘So your wife was quite right in organising the reunion for the benefit of her father’s health?’

‘Yes, most definitely,’ he said. ‘I was all for the idea.’

PC Wyndham was silent for a moment before plucking a tissue from a box. She handed it to Callum to wipe his fingers. ‘So, tell me, then, Mr Rodway. Why did my desk sergeant just overhear you telling – sorry, ordering – your wife to send her friends home immediately?’

---

Callum called his secretary, telling her to reschedule his first couple of patients.

‘We appreciate the extra time you’re sparing us,’ PC Wyndham said, once they’d gone into the interview room.

‘Did I have a choice?’ Callum adjusted his tie, laying his ink-stained hands flat on the table in front of him. His back was straight in the uncomfortable plastic chair.

‘Not really,’ PC Holt said, making Callum want to punch the smug grin straight off his face.

‘I’m sure my patients won’t mind waiting another hour or so, given that most of them have been waiting months to see me anyway.’ He folded his arms. It felt better that way.

‘We’re trying to build up a picture of the current situation, as well as any links to the past,’ PC Wyndham said.

Callum nodded, wondering if this was a good time to ask for a solicitor. But doing that would only drag things out.

‘Some of these questions might seem direct, but it’s nothing to worry about.’ She underlined something with her finger in the stack of papers between them. PC Holt nodded, blank-faced. ‘Can you start by telling us where you were when Eleanor Lucas went missing?’

‘Eleanor Lucas?’ Callum couldn’t help the laugh. ‘After twenty-one years?’ He shook his head. ‘Claire and her friends were at the beach. Eleanor went off on her own. That was the last anyone ever saw of her.’

‘I asked where you were at the time, Mr Rodway.’

‘You expect me to remember? I’d be making it up.’

‘Let’s try a slightly different question, then,’ PC Holt said. ‘How did you first find out Eleanor had gone missing?’

‘I was staying with my mother at the time. She told me. News spread around the village very quickly.’

‘You’d come back to Cornwall just a week before Eleanor went missing, is that right?’ PC Wyndham glanced down at the file.

‘Yes, that’s correct.’

‘So your memory is actually proving to be quite good, wouldn’t you say?’

‘If I’m reminded, then yes,’ Callum replied. He was a surgeon and refused to be rattled by an idiot cop.

‘Why did you return to the southwest?’ PC Wyndham continued.

‘I was taking up a position at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. I was staying with my mother until I started the job.’

‘I see. There are notes in the file indicating that immediately following Eleanor’s disappearance, you also went missing. Where did you go for three days without telling anyone, Mr Rodway?’

‘And why,’ PC Holt added.

‘I didn’t go missing,’ Callum replied, wishing he actually could. ‘I went camping and fishing near Penzance. I didn’t bother telling anyone where I’d gone. I wanted time alone before I started my new job.’

‘It seems you remember many details very clearly, yet you have trouble recalling exactly where you were the day Eleanor disappeared.’

‘I was most likely at my mother’s house.’

‘When did you begin a relationship with your wife?’

‘It was later that summer, possibly early autumn. As you can imagine, Claire was in a terrible state. Her sister had gone missing and her friends were all heading off to university or college. She decided to defer her place for a year, but never ended up going. We met, grew closer and things developed. By then our age difference didn’t seem so great.’ Callum remembered how she’d fallen in love with him in such a short time.

‘Can you tell us how Eleanor got on with her parents?’

‘I told you, I didn’t know her well. But I’d heard that she was an unusual child.’ Callum paused. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. ‘She was a bit of a loner. People used to say she was a bit slow. I don’t think she was allowed much freedom. Shona and Patrick can only be accused of doing one bad thing to their daughter.’

‘And what would that be?’ PC Wyndham asked.

‘They loved her too much,’ he replied, thinking he’d leave it at that.