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‘So what did you make of it?’ Cristy asked, as she and David finished listening to the playback later. They were at the Ritz-Carlton now, in a penthouse suite that could probably swallow up her entire apartment, with glorious Gulf views from the wraparound terrace and such sumptuous soft furnishings it would be easy to sink into them and never come up. Completely over the top, in her opinion, although as far as she could tell just about everything in Naples was, with its glossy white mansions, toweringly exotic palms and its perfectly turned-out residents with their luxury cars. A sun-baked playground for the super-rich and overprivileged if ever there was one.

David reached for his champagne flute – there was so much Krug in their personal bar it would have seemed rude not to open at least one bottle. ‘Do you mean the whole thing,’ he asked, ‘or specifically Janina’s disappearance?’

‘Both, but overall, did it strike you as a true retelling of what happened all those years ago?’

He didn’t take long to answer. ‘Actually, it did,’ he replied. ‘I had a couple of issues here and there, but they kind of got ironed out the deeper in we went. How about you? Are you having a problem with it?’

She shook her head. ‘Like you, I did once or twice, but it came clear.’

‘And Albescu Junior being involved in Janina’s disappearance?’

She sipped her drink, and gazed out at the sea spreading like a ground swell of starlight before them just as a pelican dipped down into the waves. ‘I think it’s possible,’ she replied, ‘but it’s also easier for Gabe to believe that than it is to accept she might have gone off the road and will never be coming back.’

‘Would Albescu really still have her, over twenty years later?’

‘Josef Fritzl,’ she responded, referring to the Austrian who’d kept his daughter in a cellar for almost a quarter of a century, raping her thousands of times and fathering seven children on her.

Conceding the point, distasteful as it was, he said, ‘So the next step has to be finding out where Albescu is these days?’

‘Indeed.’ Cristy checked her laptop as it signalled a call, and clicked on to let Connor join the conversation. ‘You’re up late,’ she commented, as he appeared on the screen, tousle-haired and unshaven.

‘Just gone ten,’ he replied. ‘Looks as though you’re living the good life over there.’

‘We’re doing our best,’ she smiled, saluting him with her glass. ‘So, have you listened to the interview with Lukas?’

‘Just finished, and by the way, I’m recording this. So, here’s my answer.’

CONNOR: ‘What he told you is pretty sobering, that’s for sure, but one of the big takeaways for me, apart from having paternity confirmed – that’s major, obvs, and we need to talk about breaking it to Sadie … But it seems Lottie’s story about finding Sadie on the beach is rooted in truth.’

CRISTY: ‘Yes, that was a standout for me too, so a case of truth being stranger than fiction. Must keep that in mind. What are your thoughts on Janina’s disappearance?’

CONNOR: ‘I guess it’s my one difficulty. Not that I don’t believe Albescu caught up with them, there’s a chance he did, but that it happened right when Janina was on her way to see the sisters …?’

Cristy let that hang as she glanced at David.

DAVID: ‘Am I allowed to speak?’

CONNOR: ‘Go ahead, we can always edit around if necessary.’

DAVID: ‘Are you thinking that Lottie might have found a way to contact Albescu while she was supposed to be considering the possibility of Janina seeing her daughter?’

CRISTY: ‘She knew about Albescu because Janina had told her.’

CONNOR: ‘Exactly, and now we know that there was no earlier contact with Janina’s child being the object of some ungodly transaction, we have to come at it differently. So, we’re agreed that Lottie had time to find Albescu before making contact with Janina again?’

CRISTY: ‘It’s possible. Keep going.’

CONNOR: ‘OK, Gabe said he suspected Lottie for a while, so what happened to convince him that it could have been Albescu?’

CRISTY: ‘Didn’t you see the link I sent with the rest of the interview?’

CONNOR: ‘No, I … Oh shit, here it is. I’ll listen and get back to you. Or no, give it to me now.’

CRISTY: ‘OK, apparently Gabe and Janina’s landlady in St Peter Port had a visit from a man with a foreign accent who didn’t leave his name, but he was asking for Janina. This was a day or two prior to Janina’s car going off the road.’

CONNOR: ‘So this guy turns up out of the blue, finds the landlady and what? Gets confirmation they’re staying there?’

CRISTY: ‘I guess so.’

CONNOR: ‘So he watches the place until Janina shows up then he follows her when she drives to meet Lottie – that’s what we’re being asked to believe?’

CRISTY: ‘It’s what Lukas and Gabe believe.’

CONNOR: ‘Then answer me this: why would Albescu want her dead instead of back where he could control her?’

CRISTY: ‘Because Lottie made it worth his while to abandon his own plans and adopt hers? But, remember, there was no body, so maybe he got hold of Janina and took her off the island.’

CONNOR: ‘And no one saw it happen? Finding that hard to swallow, but I guess it’s possible. Did anyone see this guy again, after he turned up at the landlady’s door?’

CRISTY: ‘We don’t know, but the assumption has to be that he left the island as soon as the job was done.’

CONNOR: ‘OK, what did Gabe do after the search for Janina was abandoned?’

CRISTY: ‘He eventually went back to the farm in Somerset hoping she’d manage to escape again and come to find him there.’

CONNOR: ‘But she never did. How long did he wait?’

CRISTY: ‘A few years, apparently. His cousin Verity, whose insanely rich husband seems to have bankrolled a new start for Gabe, turned up one day in 2010 and persuaded him to return to the States with her. I think he was pretty destitute and desperate by then, and she promised to pay someone to keep a watch on the farm in case Janina did turn up. So he went with her. The someone who was keeping an eye out was in fact a private detective by the name of Sean Littleday, who found Lukas in 2015. That’s when Lukas and Evie were hired by cousin Verity to take care of Gabe. He’s … I’m not sure how to describe him …’

Cristy looked at David.

DAVID: ‘To quote Gabe himself, he’s not quick and clever like the rest of his family, and frankly you can see how easily exploitable he must have been back then. Probably still is, actually. He’s the type who would have been bullied at school; definitely shunned by his parents. Fast forward to him as a lonely forty-something when he answered an ad he found in a newspaper offering to connect the right clients with companions or housekeepers, and the rest, as they say, is history.’

CRISTY: ‘So let’s get back to Janina’s disappearance. Did she go off the road in a tragic accident, or was Albescu, possibly hired by Lottie, making sure she wouldn’t be able to come back for her daughter again?’

DAVID: ‘Why would Lottie only target Janina when she knew that Gabe was also on the island?’

CONNOR: ‘If, as you say, he’s not the fastest on the uptake, maybe she decided that he wasn’t going to be as much of a problem. And if she could persuade him Albescu had made a return … Plus, Gabe was – is – very well connected. There could have been a hell of a lot more fuss about him disappearing, estranged from his family or not.’

CRISTY: ‘You’re quite good at this.’

CONNOR: ‘Which is why you pay me the big bucks – not. Anyway, we need to talk to that landlady, find out what she remembers. Lucky I’m in Guernsey now, so if you can get me a name, or an address, or both, I’ll see if I can track her down.’

CRISTY: ‘OK. Meantime, let’s listen to the whole interview again and then we should probably send it to Sadie. As you’re there, perhaps you and Anna can break the news about Gabe being her father so it doesn’t just come at her the way it did for us.’

CONNOR: ‘Got you. OK, this is me ending the recording.’

As the red light disappeared on their screens, Connor said, ‘How do we feel about recording Sadie’s reaction to the news? To the whole interview, in fact. Do you think she’ll be up for it?’

‘The fact that we now know Gabe was very much more victim than villain,’ Cristy replied, ‘definitely makes it worth asking. Especially as he seems to have really loved Janina. That’ll mean a lot, I’m sure. Where are you staying?’

‘Chez David. Your mother and Anna insisted.’

David laughed. ‘I hope they’re taking good care of you.’

‘The best.’

‘Have you interviewed Corny, the housekeeper, yet?’ Cristy asked.

‘This morning,’ Connor replied. ‘I’ll send it over, but she hasn’t added anything we don’t already know, so she’s either been briefed by Mia, or she really was in the dark about Sadie. Needless to say I can’t get near Mia herself. How have you left things with the ex-pat trio?’

‘We’re meeting for dinner at their club tomorrow evening,’ Cristy told him, ‘which means we now have the onerous ordeal of trying to fill our time in this rich man’s paradise.’

‘Hard. I guess you must be feeling quite at home there, David, being one of them and all that.’

‘Already got my eye on a property or two,’ David assured him dryly.

‘After Sadie’s listened to the interview,’ Cristy said, ‘or even before, make sure you tell her that her father and uncle are very keen to meet her.’

‘Will do. Something that just occurred to me, do we ask Gabe to prove paternity? I mean, we can tell her it’s possible he’s her father, in fact highly likely, but …’

‘It’s already in hand,’ Cristy assured him, ‘and Lukas is doing the same. You’re right to think of it, because we’ll need the cover once we go live with this and the army of cynics get stuck into it.’

‘But we’re not foreseeing a problem?’

‘No, but if there is and they turn out to be fakes … Actually I can’t go there, it’s already making me feel faint, although I guess it’ll make a fantastic twist in the series if they are.’

*

‘Are you OK?’ David asked the following morning as he and Cristy strolled barefoot along the soft, white-sand beach in front of their hotel.

Cristy’s fingers tightened around his, as though to reassure him. She wasn’t going to mention the nuisance, nonsense texts she’d been receiving before, and since they’d arrived, and maybe spoil what little time they had here. It was the same crazy who, for some reason, had advised her not to be afraid in his first message. This time he’d just spewed out all his random fan-stuff, nothing threatening, or even standout really, so she couldn’t think why it was bothering her.

‘I might be a little jetlagged,’ she said. ‘And I’m concerned about the way things are going with the series.’

‘In what way?’

‘Something’s not feeling right.’

‘You mean with Gabe and Lukas?’

‘No, I believe what they told us and I know you do …’

‘As does Connor …’

‘I just keep getting the sense that we’re still missing something … Like it’s there in front of me, something I should be seeing, but I’m not.’

Pulling her down next to him on the sand, David slipped an arm around her shoulders and rested his head on hers as they stared out to the shimmering horizon while inky blue waves lapped gently, coolly, over their feet.

‘Whatever it is,’ he said, ‘I’m sure it’ll come clear—’

‘Shall we put it aside for now?’ Cristy interrupted, loving the feeling of being with him and deciding she wanted nothing more than to lose herself in it while she could.

‘Your call,’ he said, and pressed a kiss to her hair.

Moments later they both murmured in surprised appreciation as a dolphin appeared, only a few feet away, and began to circle and dive, skim and leap, as if putting on a show just for them. It was so early in the morning that there was no one else around, only the attendants quietly setting out loungers and raising parasols.

David started to speak, then stopped as his mobile rang. Seeing it was Rosie on FaceTime, he clicked to answer it. ‘Hi, sweetheart,’ he said, holding the phone so she could see Cristy too.

‘Hi Dad – and Cristy. It’s Rosie here.’

‘We can see,’ David responded dryly.

‘How are you?’ Cristy smiled.

‘Have you run away to get married?’ Rosie asked and giggled as they laughed.

‘Not the plan right now,’ David told her. ‘How are things with you?’

‘I’m OK, but I think Ludo’s made me pregnant.’

Feeling him stiffen, Cristy quickly said, ‘Why do you say that, sweetie? What did he do?’

‘He put his tongue in my mouth when he kissed me and said that was how babies are made. I told him it’s not, because I know it’s not, but he keeps saying it is.’

‘Have you talked to Grandma?’ David asked.

‘Yes and she said I’m right, but I thought I should ask you as well just in case she doesn’t know.’

Stifling a laugh, Cristy said, ‘So I’m guessing it’s all back on with Ludo since he made a scene a couple of weeks ago?’

‘Yes, I forgave him, because he has mental health issues and that’s the kind thing to do. When are you coming home?’

‘Why? Are you missing me?’ her father asked.

‘No!’ Rosie cried, and laughed delightedly. ‘Connor’s staying here,’ she told them. ‘He’s much nicer-looking than Ludo. Shame he’s married or I would ask him to be my boyfriend. I’m going to the doctor today for my regular check-up.’

‘Good girl,’ David told her. ‘Is Grandma taking you?’

‘I think so. Anna’s going somewhere with Connor. Oh, that’s right, they’ve already gone to Sadie’s. I wanted to go, but I have a lot to do here so I’ll see them later. Cristy, are you in love with Dad again?’

As Cristy hesitated, David said, ‘Of course she is. How could she not be?’

‘So are you making babies?’

David’s first answer was lost in a laugh. ‘That’s not a very polite question to ask,’ he scolded gently.

Leaving him to explain why, Cristy got up to take a call from Connor. ‘Hey,’ she said, moving a little further down the beach.

‘Jesus, it’s all kicking off here,’ he told her, sounding tense and hurried.

‘Why? What’s happening? Where are you?’

‘At the lodge. Sadie listened to the interview, spoke not a word, just took off down to the villa to confront her aunt, I’m guessing about Lottie meeting Janina and no one telling her. God knows what’s been said down there, but it obviously got pretty heated because she’s just rung Jasper to let him know she’s locked Mia up.’

‘You’re kidding!’

‘No. She’s locked Mia in a downstairs cupboard and is refusing to let her out until Mia tells her the truth. Jasper’s gone to investigate. Anna and I are waiting here on his advice, but if we don’t hear anything in the next ten minutes we’re going down. Meantime, I’m recording an account of events as they unfold in the hope of using it, because this is pretty dramatic stuff.’

‘You’re telling me,’ Cristy agreed. ‘Keep me updated, and if you think we should come back …’

‘Actually, I do. Sorry, but it seems you’ve got what you went there for and right now this is where it’s happening.’

‘OK. I’ll call again as soon as I’ve got Iz to organize the flights,’ and ringing off Cristy turned back to David, pausing as she realized he was talking to his mother now. In spite of the hour she texted Evie to ask if she and David could come over this morning, probably in about an hour, then she emailed Iz with their flight requirements.

Iz came back so fast Cristy almost blinked. Leave it with me. How many tickets?

Just the two. We need to end up in Guernsey.

All is possible.

With a smile Cristy checked Evie’s message. We’re here. Come whenever suits you. Is everything OK?

Deciding not to answer that for the moment, Cristy made a quick check of her other texts, and felt a surge of distaste as she came across another from the crazy. Very short this time, saying, He doesn’t love you as much as I do.

In spite of it being a Matthew kind of line, she knew instinctively that it wasn’t him, not only because the sender’s ID was withheld, but because her ex, for all his faults, just wasn’t that creepy.

Quickly scrolling back through the thread she saw, to her alarm, that there were even more messages than she’d realized and whoever was behind them appeared to have been following her every move.

You didn’t see me tonight, did you, Cristy? I saw you walking through the rain.

Sorry about the mess at your office. Got frustrated when you weren’t there.

Don’t go back to him. He’s a liar and a cheat.

He – and she presumed it was he – even seemed to know she was in the States. I waved you off at the airport, but you didn’t wave back. How’s Miami?

And now this – He doesn’t love you as much as I do.

Deciding again that she wasn’t going to let it distract her, she dumped the messages into a folder and shut down the thread just as David finished his call.

‘We’re going to Floral Grove for breakfast,’ she told him as he stood up. ‘I’ll explain on the way.’

*

Evie had coffee and pastries waiting when they arrived. Lukas was at his computer, checking the markets apparently, although he joined them moments after they’d sat down in the kitchen. Gabe was standing almost statue-like with his back to the glass doors onto the deck, a dark, indistinguishable silhouette against the early morning sunlight – until he too came to the table and sat down. He wasn’t wearing his dark glasses this morning and his eyes, Cristy noticed right away, were blue and clear, and so filled with anguish that she instantly regretted blurting out Sadie’s predicament the way she had.

‘They lock one another up?’ he said in confusion. ‘Why would they do that?’

‘I’m not sure I understand it myself,’ Cristy confessed, ‘although I think this might be the first time Sadie has done it to her aunt. Usually it’s the other way around.’

‘What the …?’ Evie muttered under her breath.

‘She locked her aunt up …’ Gabe repeated.

‘She’s not her aunt,’ Lukas reminded him.

Flummoxed, Gabe said, ‘What does she hope to gain from this?’

Cristy glanced at David, not quite sure how to answer that.

‘Probably more of the truth,’ David suggested. ‘Now Sadie knows—’

‘She’s Sasha,’ Lukas interrupted. ‘Our Sasha. I think we must call her by her name.’

Going with it, David said, ‘Now Sasha knows that at least one of her aunts met her mother and lied about it, she understandably wants to know what else they’ve kept from her.’

‘Like how Janina died,’ Lukas put in tightly. ‘I’m sorry, Gabe, I’ve never liked to say this to you, but I’m sure those women know more than they ever let on.’

Gabe’s eyes were full of uncertainty as he looked at David. ‘Is Sasha in danger?’ he asked.

‘I don’t think so,’ David replied, ‘but clearly things are getting out of hand which is why we need to get back there.’

‘We should come too,’ Lukas stated, getting to his feet. ‘We have to be sure she’s safe. We can’t lose her again.’

‘She’ll be OK,’ Evie assured him gently. ‘Won’t she?’ she asked Cristy.

Deciding not to remind them that, as things stood, Mia was the prisoner, not Sadie, Cristy said, ‘It’s probable that the worst is already over and things have calmed down. I’ll check with Connor, my colleague, who’s there, at the house, and call you as soon as I have an update.’

‘We – are – coming,’ Lukas insisted. ‘Gabe is her father. She needs him now, and I’m her uncle …’

Seeming to read the situation more clearly than he did, Evie said, ‘Let’s wait until we know that she wants to see you, sweetie. She hasn’t said anything about it yet … Has she?’ she asked Cristy.

Feeling for Lukas and Gabe who were looking increasingly afraid, Cristy said, ‘Not as far as I know, but I’m sure she will, once we’ve got things straightened out over there.’

‘It won’t help to walk into the middle of everything,’ Evie cautioned Lukas. ‘She has people there to help her sort that out, then we can meet her and let her know how very much we want her to be a part of our lives.’

Lukas looked at Cristy, clearly torn, unsure of the right thing to say. ‘We’ll be on the next plane if she wants us to be,’ he told her. ‘Or she can come here. Whatever works best for her.’

Impulsively squeezing his hand, Cristy said, ‘We’re going straight to Guernsey from Miami – one change – but my phone will be on the whole time. I’ll be in touch the minute I know more.’

Going to shake Gabe’s hand, David said, ‘I have no doubt she’ll want to meet you, and when it happens you’ll be very proud of her.’

Gabe stared back at him, tears welling in his eyes. ‘Is she like her mother?’ he asked hoarsely. ‘The photos say she is.’

David smiled. ‘You’ll probably be surprised by just how much.’

‘I wish,’ Gabe began and faltered.

Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, David said, ‘It’s OK, my friend, I get it.’

A few minutes later, as they drove away from the house, Cristy said, ‘What do you get?’

Waving a thanks to the security guard who opened the gates, David said, ‘He wishes we could find Janina.’

Cristy nodded, impressed that he’d intuited that, while wishing the same thing for them all – and what a coup it would be for Hindsight.

‘Clove and Jacks have already started a search for Albescu,’ she said, as they headed for I-75, ‘but my gut is telling me that whether he was involved in the disappearance or not, the answers are all with the sisters. Either written down, or, more likely, stored inside Mia’s head.’

*

Cristy and David had already checked in at Miami International when Connor rang.

‘Has Mia been released yet?’ Cristy asked right away.

CONNOR: ‘FYI, I’m recording this. The answer is yes, Mia’s free and Sadie’s back at the lodge. Anna and I have just left.’

CRISTY: ‘Is Sadie OK?’

CONNOR: ‘I think so. Not as angry as she was, anyway, but she’s obviously still shaken up and now she’s totally focused on reading Lottie’s journals. The ones that were in the safe. Apparently, Mia told her it’s where she’s going to find the truth.’

CRISTY: ‘Why the heck can’t Mia just tell her?’

CONNOR: ‘She says she doesn’t know all of it.’

CRISTY: ‘So she’s not read the journals herself, but claims it’s where Sadie will find the truth? How does that work?’

CONNOR: ‘I’ve no idea, but it’s what’s happening right now. Sadie’s got the journals and has promised to call if she finds anything. Have you spoken to Clove and Jacks?’

CRISTY: ‘Not yet, have you?’

CONNOR: ‘They’re still in Vilnius, and they’ve interviewed the older sister. All it’s really adding is more background to Janina and Lukas’s childhoods – an expansion of what he’s already told you. They’re heading back this afternoon, and I’m on my way to St Peter Port to interview the landlady who’s already told me on the phone that she doesn’t remember renting her flat to anyone with the names I gave her.’

CRISTY: ‘But it was a long time ago, maybe photographs will jog her memory?’

CONNOR: ‘That’s what I’m hoping. Where are you now?’

CRISTY: ‘Waiting to board a flight to Dublin. Changing there for Guernsey, so I’ll call as soon as we land. Before you go, how did Sadie take the fact that George Symmonds-Browne is her father?’

CONNOR: ‘She didn’t actually say much at first, I think she was in shock, needed time to process, then she heard Lukas speak and started to cry, sobbed when Gabe came in. It was hearing about Lottie directing Janina to some random house that really got to her … Incidentally, she didn’t know that the sisters ever had any other properties on the island. Anyway, that’s when she took off to the villa.’

Anna’s voice came down the line. ‘If it helps, she told me while Connor was on the phone that she’s really excited to meet her father and uncle, and nervous, but she wants to find out what happened to her mother first. Then she thinks she’ll probably want to go there rather than them come here, because it’ll punish Mia for lying to her all these years if she just ups and leaves.’

Cristy checked her phone as a text arrived. It was from Matthew so she let it go for now. ‘Does she understand that her father has a slightly impaired cognitive ability?’ she asked Anna. Was that the best way to put it; right now she couldn’t think of another.

‘Yes, she does and she says it just makes her feel more protective of him.’

Cristy smiled. ‘Much like her mother did, by the sound of it. I’ll let him and her uncle know that she is keen to meet them. This being the States with practically everything on same-day delivery if you can pay, we should have their DNA results pretty quickly so we can be certain they match with Sadie’s.’

‘Are you doubting it?’

‘No, I’m not.’

After speaking briefly with Connor again, she rang off and, seeing David was on his phone, she checked Matthew’s text.

How’s it going over there? Am I allowed to say I’m missing you? OK, not what you want to hear. He’s a lucky guy, but he’ll never love you as much as I do. Mx

As the final words jarred, Cristy looked up, almost as if expecting to find someone watching her, messing with her. No one was, and of course, the echo in Matthew’s text of what the weirdo had said in his latest was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence, because Matthew really wasn’t that creepy. He simply wouldn’t send anonymous messages designed to unnerve and annoy her. He had no reason to when he was pretty good at that anyway.

Messaging him back, she said, How’s Aiden?

Accusing me of being ‘de-lulu’ for thinking you’ll marry me again. I’m guessing that means delusional. Shall we prove him wrong?

Did he never give up?

How’s Baby Bear?

There was no reply to that until she and David were settled into their seats for the flight and a photograph of a wide-eyed, cute-as-a-bear-cub baby came through. Finding no accompanying message she typed in, Sweet, you must be very proud. When are you going to see him?

We’re both invited to LA any time we want to go. Fancy it?

Irritated, she switched from the thread and sent a quick message to Evie. Thanks to you all for your hospitality and for your frankness. I have it on good authority that Sasha is very keen to meet Gabe and Lukas. She read it through quickly, and pressed send .