He’d died while Robert was at boarding school, almost breaking Vanetta’s heart – the worst thing that ever happened to her, she’d told Robert. But that was before Duval’s arrest.

Then Duval asked, ‘How about your family? Is your daddy still alive?’

‘Just my stepmother. Dad died three years ago.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘He was old, Duval, and in a lot of pain. The last few years were hard. I don’t think he wanted to go on.’

‘But Merrill’s all right?’

‘Yes,’ said Robert, amazed Duval remembered her name. ‘Lily looks after her.’

‘Where’s Mike?’

‘He’s up in Washington State, near Spokane. He was an army officer; retired last year. He’s fine, taking it easy.’ He deserved it; he’d fought in both Gulf Wars, real fighting too.

‘Vanetta said you got married and had yourself a family. Boys or girls?’

‘One girl.’

‘Really now. That’s what I call intelligent planning.’ He chuckled, but again his hand went to his mouth.

‘Well, actually, I’ve been divorced once – the first time didn’t work out. But I had a son – he’s grown now and lives in England.’

‘What’s he do for a living?’

‘He’s studying.’

Duval nodded earnestly. Robert thought of his boy, still technically an undergraduate, but just hanging in there by the skin of his backside if his tutor’s report was anything to go by.

‘I bet he’s doing good.’

‘I’m not sure he’d share your confidence. My boy’s a bit wild.’

‘Wild?’ Duval looked concerned for the first time. ‘You want to nip that in the bud.’

Robert shrugged. ‘He’s an adult now, Duval. Legally at least. He tends to listen to his mother more anyway. We didn’t have the friendliest divorce in the world, and he sided with his momma.’

Duval was sobered by this. Then his face brightened and he asked, ‘But you married again then?’

‘That’s right. She’s English, but she’s here too. And we got a little girl, Sophie.’ We got, and a moment before momma – he heard his voice slipping into the half-black patois he’d used as a boy with Vanetta. Stop it, he told himself. Duval might think he was making fun of him.

‘A little girl – ain’t that sweet?’ Duval seemed to muse happily on this. The waitress delivered his pie, and his eyes shifted to his plate. ‘Say,’ he said, as he lifted his fork, ‘I meant to tell you, I went out to Hyde Park after I was released, had a good look around. It has changed, hasn’t it? You see that new building behind your place on Blackstone?’

‘I haven’t, actually. I haven’t been out there since we moved back.’

Duval looked disappointed. ‘You haven’t been out there at all? You should, you know. Sarnat’s is gone.’

‘Yes,’ said Robert measuredly. It had been gone for twenty years, turned into a restaurant.

‘And the Christian Science church got turned into a mosque for the brothers of Islam.’

‘That was a while back.’ Way, way back, he wanted to say.

‘Well, it ain’t no mosque no more.