‘I was saved in the end' when somebody started knocking on the bedroom door. There seemed to be a group of them out there' and something was causing them great hilarity. Of course' I was convinced that it was me they were all laughing at. Stupid, isn't it? And when Graham Vernon finally let me go' I had to walk past them downstairs as if nothing had happened. I couldn't bear the thought of all those people looking at me, seeing the state I was in, all messed up' with my best dress crumpled and my hair all over the place. That was all I could think about at the time. But they wouldn't have cared what I'd been doing' would they? Because they were all the same as him. Graham Vernon. Don't ask me why I hate him' Ben.’

Cooper wished he could reach out and touch her' to reassure her that everything was OK. But maybe it wouldn't have been the right thing to do' even if he had actually been there with her, instead of on the end of an impersonal phone line.

‘Thanks for telling me, Helen'' he said' knowing it sounded totally inadequate.

As a matter of fact' it helps to tell somebody. And you're not difficult to talk to, Ben.'

‘I'm glad.’

She paused. 'Ben —'

‘Yes?'

‘Do you go off duty sometime?'

‘Of course. Tonight.' He hesitated' a fateful hesitation. 'But — well' I've got something that I have to do.’

‘I see.’

He hadn't forgotten his promise to Diane Fry' and he hated to let people down. But there were times when, no matter what you did' no matter how you tried' there was always someone that you were letting down. And it was usually yourself.

23

The Way of the Eagle Martial Arts Centre was tucked away in the basement of a former textile warehouse in Stone Bottom' at the end of Bargate. The ground floor of the warehouse was occupied by a computer software company' and above it' on three more floors' were craft workshops' creative designers, a small-scale publisher of countryside books and an employment agency. The steps down to the dojo were always bathed in the smell of freshly baked bread from the ventilators in the back wall of the baker's in Hollowgate.

Diane Fry followed Ben Cooper's Toyota as it turned off Bargate and bounced down the carefully relaid stone setts between a corner pub and three-storey terraced houses whose front doors were reached by short flights of steps lined with iron railings. On the left' a steep alley ran back up towards the Market Square and Edendale's main shopping streets.

The daytime car park for the craftspeople and office workers was closed by a barrier' but a small patch of derelict land had been partially cleared next to the old warehouse. They parked their cars in the middle of an area of mud-filled potholes fringed by broken bricks and shoulder-high thistles. There were several other vehicles there already' and the sound of dull thumps and hoarse screams filtered through the steel grilles of windows set near ground level.

The buildings were clustered so close together in Stone Bottom that they seemed grotesquely out of proportion from the ground as they leaned towards each other' dark and shadowy against the sky' set with long' blank rows of tiny windows. The slamming of their car doors echoed loudly against the walls and reverberated down the stone setts to the narrow bridge over the River Eden.

Fry collected her sports bag from her boot and joined Cooper at the door. Though the baker's had stopped work for the evening' they could still smell the warm, yeasty scent of the bread lingering around the basement steps and in the dark corners between the buildings.

‘That's making me feel hungry. I haven't had anything since lunchtime' and I only managed to grab a sandwich between interviews.’

Cooper shrugged. He had been at the hospital at lunchtime and he hadn't eaten any lunch at all. In fact' he hadn't even thought about food. The hunger that was gnawing at his belly now wasn't caused by the smell of baking' but by the need to prove that there was something he could do right. Something he could do better than Diane Fry.

‘What have you been doing today then, Diane?'

‘I interviewed Charlotte Vernon this morning. You wouldn't believe that woman' Ben. She tried to put on an act for me. Wanted me to believe that she was some sort of hard-faced' sex-mad bitch who didn't care about anything' let alone her daughter. Anybody could have seen through it. The woman is broken up inside. But why would someone put on an act like that?’

He paused' regarding Fry curiously. 'I could think of several reasons.'

‘Such as?'

‘She may feel she has to play the part that's expected of her. People do that all the time. They try to live up to an image they've created for themselves, or meet the expectations that other people have of them' as if they have no real personality of their own. Or she may have been diverting your attention from something else. On the other hand, it could have been a double-bluff. She may have been hiding the truth by pushing it in your face so hard that you would refuse to accept it.’

Amazing' Ben. You make people sound really complicated. In my experience' their motivations are usually very simple and boring.'

‘Motivations like ambition and greed? The old favourites? They can certainly make people ruthless and selfish' can't they?’

Fry bridled at his tone of voice' though she didn't know what he was getting at. And sex' of course'' she said.

‘Oh yes' let's not forget sex.' Cooper collected two locker keys and signed Fry into the visitors' book' stabbing the page with the point of the pen. 'But sex isn't so simple either' is it?'

‘For some of us it's very simple' I can assure you. But not for the Vernons and Milners' apparently.’

Cooper paused to greet another dojo member passing through towards the changing rooms. He was a tall young man' a fellow brown-belt student. All the students and instructors here knew Ben Cooper — he often thought of them as a second family' united by a common attitude and purpose. The chief instructor' the sensei, was the closest thing he had to a father now.

‘Why do you include the Milners?' he asked.

‘Oh yes. Charlotte Vernon named Andrew Milner as one of her many lovers. He and his wife have denied it. But his daughter had some very interesting things to say. Did you know Simeon Holmes is her cousin?'

‘You've talked to Helen Milner today?'

‘That's right. What's the matter?’

Cooper had his mobile phone in his bag' since it wasn't safe to leave it in the car. And his memory was quite good enough to remember Helen's phone number.

‘You go ahead, Diane'' he said. 'I've told Sensei Hughes you're coming. You go and get warmed up. I've got a phone call to make first. I may be a few minutes.’

Fry looked surprised. 'Well' OK. Whatever.’

The atmosphere in the changing room was the familiar one of sweat and soap. At one side were three rows of metal lockers for members' valuables. A thick makiwara practice punching board had been left against the wall by the door.

Cooper started to get undressed while he listened to the phone ringing. With one hand he unbuttoned his shirt and began to unroll his gi' the loose white suit that was obligatory in the training hall. It was tied up in his brown cloth belt' the mark of a successful fourth-grade student' just one level below the various tiers of dans' the black-belt masters. The ringing went on for so long that he nearly pressed the button to stop the call.

‘Hello?'

‘Helen?'

‘Ben? What a surprise — twice in one day. You only just caught me' I was about to go out.'

‘Oh. Anywhere interesting?’

She laughed. 'Parent-Teacher Association darts night' would you believe? We take a team round local pubs and clubs to raise money for the school.'