Page 165 of Deep Blue Sea

‘Don’t worry. I’ll look after her until she’s back home with you, where she belongs.’

Liam’s call had distracted her from Adam’s arrival, but it had also given her another thing to feel unsettled about. She tried Rachel’s mobile but like Liam was unable to get through.

The rain had faded to a gentle drizzle by the time Adam’s Aston Martin pulled up at the front door. She was glad it wasn’t blazing hot, glad that the weather didn’t remind her of their day out in Dorset. How stupid she had been, she told herself. How could she have let herself be seduced like that?

She watched him jump out of the car, shocked by her lack of feeling as he approached. She thought about all the emotions he had dredged to the surface in New York. All that passion, desire and belonging. Had they ever really been there? Or had they just been a mirage, conjured up by her own sense of stupidity and loneliness?

‘Hello, Di.’ He kissed her lightly, awkwardly on the cheek. It was the first time she had seen Adam do anything awkwardly.

‘I’m glad you came.’

‘I didn’t want things to be uncomfortable between us.’

‘Neither do I.’

‘I meant what I said in New York.’

Is that what you say to all the girls? Including my sister? she wanted to shout. But it wasn’t worth it. As he said, they didn’t want things to be uncomfortable between them. He was still part of her life; he was still going to be her baby’s uncle. She didn’t want to jeopardise that with insults and recriminations. Besides, she didn’t blame him for being attracted to Rachel; not like Julian, who she could never forgive for what he had done.

‘Adam, these are strange times, and perhaps things have happened that wouldn’t happen under normal circumstances.’

The trace of a frown appeared between his brows, and it almost made her laugh. She had been expecting relief, but instead he looked mildly irritated.

‘Absolutely. So you don’t want to talk about it . . .’

She shook her head.

‘Do you fancy going for a pub lunch? Or we could go to Dot’s Bakery,’ he said hopefully.

‘Actually, I want to talk to you.’

Adam had the look of a man cornered. A reluctant boyfriend pressed into discussing the future by a partner who had not yet realised that their relationship had passed its sell-by date.

‘Okay.’ He shrugged, with an awkward smile. ‘Let’s grab some coffee.’

They walked into the conservatory, which was the brightest place in the house, even managing to capture some light despite the grey cloud cover.

‘I wanted to talk to you about Greg Willets,’ she said, before telling him everything that Lia

m had discussed with her.

When she had finished Adam looked confused.

‘I don’t understand why he thinks Rachel is in danger. Why he doesn’t want her talking to Greg . . .’

‘Rachel had a theory that someone might have killed Julian, you know that. She had the why – Rheladrex. She just couldn’t work out how they would have got into the house.’

‘Greg was his best friend,’ said Adam with disbelief. ‘They started off working for Denver on the same day; Dad got Greg a job, in fact. He’d come in for work experience during university and impressed everyone that much. He’s a very good friend of the family, my dad, Elizabeth, a good friend of mine, in fact.’

‘Why did he leave Denver?’

Adam shrugged. ‘He was attracted to investment banking. Thought there was more money in it, I suppose, than being a salary man at Denver.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t believe it. Check the film again, I’m sure you’ll find an explanation.’

‘Did Greg have anything to gain from Julian’s death? Last night Michael Reynolds said his business might be in trouble.’

‘Diana, Greg just wouldn’t do a thing like that.’

‘One thing I’ve learnt over the past few weeks is that you never know what people are thinking,’ said Diana softly.