‘So you’re a famous artist now, then,’ said Mia, as they took seats away from the window. ‘I saw you on the local news.’
‘Did you?’
‘Yeah. Always said you were talented, didn’t I?’
‘Did you?’
‘Yeah.’ She sighed. ‘I know you hate me, and you’ve got good reason …’
He waved his hand, cutting her off.
‘Don’t,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter any more anyway.’
‘No,’ said Mia, sighing again. ‘It was her that got me into this place.’
Jason made an exasperated sound.
‘Who?’
‘Jenna Diamond. She brought me here once.’
‘Jenna Myatt,’ Jason corrected. ‘And what? Jenna brought you here?’
‘When you were in prison. She thought I could help …’
‘But you didn’t. It was Kayley who had the guts in the end.’
‘I know. I felt bad. But I was so scared, you know.’
She broke off to order two coffees.
‘You were scared?’ said Jason hotly, but then he remembered his mission and tried to calm down. ‘Yeah, well, Lawrence Harville isn’t exactly Mr Nice Guy,’ he conceded.
Mia nodded miserably.
‘It’s him I want to ask you about,’ said Jason. ‘As it goes.’
‘Lawrence Harville?’ She looked surprised, and none too pleased.
‘Uh huh. What, did you think I wanted to talk about old times?’ he sneered.
‘I’m sorry I hurt you,’ said Mia quietly.
That threw him. He’d been expecting defensiveness, snapping, maybe even self-pitying tears, but not an apology.
‘OK,’ he said after a pause. ‘Apology accepted.’
A waitress brought their coffees over.
‘When you used to hang around with Harville,’ said Jason, ‘did he ever take you to a cottage, or country house type place? Like, not in Bledburn but maybe about eight, nine, ten miles away or so?’
‘A place in the country?’ Mia’s face set in the effort of recollection. ‘We mainly partied at the Hall but we went out sometimes … raves and stuff … out in the countryside. Let me think.’
‘It’s important,’ said Jason, breaking her reverie.
‘There might have been somewhere,’ she said. ‘I remember a place with a wine cellar, belonged to one of his friends, or his friend’s parents or something.’
‘A cottage? Off the beaten track?’