SECRET CRIMES a gripping crime thriller full of suspense by MICHAEL HAMBLING

Rosemary. I know you gave us a potted account this morning, but I want to know why you left the first pub, the one where you’d been talking to Ed. Was it your idea or Sarah’s to go to the one up the road?’ Sophie asked.
    ‘Sarah’s. And something else has just occurred to me. Her behaviour yesterday was entirely different to the previous Friday evenings. Yesterday she didn’t act as if she was on the lookout for a man, despite what she told Ed. She was quieter. That’s until we walked into that second bar. Once Derek appeared she was back to being full of life.’
    ‘Did she get any phone calls earlier in the evening?’ asked Marsh.
    ‘No. But while I was talking to Ed, she got some text messages. It was just after one of those that she grabbed my arm and said we were going somewhere else.’
    ‘Was there any hint that they already knew each other? Sarah and Derek, I mean,’ Marsh continued.
    ‘I didn’t think so at the time, but the way she behaved with him was much more forward than I’d ever seen before. They were all over each other. I had to warn them to cool it because I was worried there might be complaints. You know, from some of the other people there, or from the staff. I was actually quite embarrassed.’
    ‘Could you describe exactly what you could see happening between them?’ Sophie asked.
    ‘Well, it didn’t take long before his hand went inside her jacket. He was squeezing her breasts. And it wasn’t so obvious because it was going on below table height, but her hand was inside his trousers. Honestly, she’d never gone that far in public before. Nowhere near.’
    ‘Looking back now, do you think they might already have known each other?’
    ‘Look, I just don’t know. They were whispering to each other, but I don’t know what they were saying. It was too noisy to hear a thing, what with the band playing and all the people crammed together, shouting at each other.’
    ‘What about when you walked back to the hotel? What was going on then?’
    Rosemary thought for a moment. ‘I was in front, talking to Ed. Brian was trying hard to keep up with me. Sarah and Derek hung back a bit. It wasn’t far. It could only have taken us a couple of minutes. When we arrived at the hotel we made for the bar. It was so quiet compared with the pubs. I settled into a sofa and felt like going to sleep. I remember that the barman brought over a tray of liqueurs and brandies that someone had ordered. I think it was Derek. The next thing I knew was when Sarah nudged me awake and told me that we needed to visit the loo. It was a bit weird really.’
    ‘Why was that, Rosemary?’
    ‘When we got there she got quite bossy. She told me that she was going to spend the night with Derek, and that I ought to loosen up a bit and go back with Brian. Or Ed. It didn’t matter which, as long as I found somewhere else to go. It wasn’t a discussion. She made it very clear that I was getting my marching orders. Then she walked out. I followed, explained the situation to Ed and he invited me to stay here. That was when Brian left. I collected a few things from our room, said goodbye to Sarah and came out with Ed. I was tired, confused and angry and I let her know how I felt. I was beginning to ask myself whether I wanted to carry on being friends with her, but I didn’t say anything. I decided to wait to see how she behaved this morning, and whether she’d apologise. And that was it. I think you know everything else that happened.’
    Sophie was silent for a few moments. ‘That’s fine, Rosemary. I think we now have a much clearer picture of your relationship with Sarah, and what happened yesterday. I just have a couple more questions. How did you get here from Portsmouth yesterday? Can you take us through that, please?’
    ‘We came in my car. I picked her up straight after leaving work at six. I’d normally be working later than that on a Friday, but I’d arranged for my deputy to take over from me for this