‘He’s got an exeat this weekend and he’s coming home tomorrow for a night.’ ‘You don’t look very happy about it.’ She was fiddling with her coffee cup, twisting the handle to and fro. ‘I’m worried, Hugh. Someone told him about the skeleton – they’d read about it in the papers – and he seems to think it’s a big joke. He wants to see what he calls the “scene of the crime”.’ ‘Boys can be very gruesome.’ ‘It will be lovely to have him, of course, but, to be honest, I’d much sooner he didn’t come here at the moment. I don’t want him mixed up in this sordid business.’ ‘There’s no reason why he should be – is there?’ ‘No . . . It’s nothing whatever to do with him. The whole thing’s just so unpleasant.’ More twisting the cup handle. ‘I wish to heavens the police would go away and leave us in peace. That awful tape is still up. I can’t think why.’ ‘I’ll phone the Chief Inspector and ask if he can do something about it, if you like.’ ‘Thank you, Hugh.
