With the Irish Sea to our right, we rolled west through Greenstone and Little St Mary's"If you look across the water, you can begin to catch glimpses of the Isle of Old Norse," I said."We're coming upon the Narrow-Water," I continued, "which separates Old Norse from mainland Wales. The northern end of the strait was once guarded on the Old Norse side by Derneford Castle, a very motivating bit of military construction, which, though never completed, is still extremely impressive and even more so in its time.""I’ve never seen so many castles," Sandra said."There's a reason for them, Sandra," I replied. "Centuries ago, before the great sailing ships made international occupation a practicable desire, this part of Wales was the front row of a kingdom. English kings, notably Edward I, spent massive amounts trying to overcome the insubordinate Welsh, and these castles may be the most intense souvenirs of that era we still have today. But to value them

Shortly after a sumptuous meal, Flynn broadcast the appearance of Daniel Coughlin, who had tutored Tina mathematics in school."It's an honour to meet you, Mr Noone and you, DCI Burton," Coughlin said. "I'll be happy to help you however I can, even though I cannot visualise what I am able to tell you that would be of any assistance. It has been such a long time since I last saw Tina, and I have no idea who could have murdered her.""But you knew Tina? You schooled her?" I asked. "We're basically fascinated in what you witnessed. Anything you tell us now could hypothetically be advantageous later.""I'm glad to hear it," said Coughlin. "I shall undoubtedly tell you anything I can.""What were your first feelings of Tina?" I asked."We knew about her before we met her," replied the teacher. "She had done her GCSE in maths at primary school and got a B at an intermediary level. She took the higher-level GCSE a couple of months later and got an A!"

"Bloody hell!!" I shouted in a burst of anger. "The bastards!""I'm very sorry," said Maggie Plume, visibly shaken by my outburst.I looked at her."I am not angry with you.""That's what it looked like," she replied."I'm angry at what has happened to your family." I answered. "It's a bloody disgrace."My voice trailed off, leaving a quietness which no one risked breaking.Finally, calming myself, I turned to James Plume."Have you sold your house yet, Dr Plume?""No, we haven't," he replied."Can you take it off the market for a while?" I asked."I suppose we can. But Why? How? I'm sorry," James Plume said, "but I don't understand. How did you know we were trying to sell our house and how did you know I'm a doctor? And what do any of these things have to do with Tina?""I make it my business to know things," I said. "If I were you, I would take my home off the market, if only to keep unwelcome visi

"What was all that about?" Sandra asked when we had established ourselves in our hotel room."What was all what about?" I replied"I'm not sure I understood your discussion with Maggie and James, " I said. "How did you know they were advertising their home? And why are the Metropolitan police trying to keep her quiet?""According to the media," I said, "Tina's colleagues called in the police at MI6, who became anxious after not noticing her at work for some time. But there have been contradictory accounts," I resumed. "And according to one, it was Maggie who called the police. Usually, a sole disputing account would not entice much of my consideration. Nevertheless, somebody printed that reporting the Haliheved Chronicle. Why? Some other features of that report were very peculiar. It gave the actual name of the street where Maggie and James live, it gave the name of the hospital where they both work, it stated that their home was for sale, and it even quoted the

"Have you any theories ?," Sandra asked me, "which would clear up the rumours you have been relating, with their secretive conferences and unexpected relocations?""I have established seven," he replied, "some more credible than others.""Which of them are most likely?""The first question in my mind," I answered, "is whether the media is reporting the truth. If not, we must work with theories regarding the intelligence service, the police, and the press. But if the media are correct, we are getting sights into the life of Tina Davis. Let's assume the rumours of these two mystifying couples are true. It's pure conjecture, of course. But where does it take us? Suppose she were immersed in undertakings of which she knew MI6 would have a problem with. How would she contact her colleagues? She'd been working for GCHQ, the eavesdropping service, for a decade, decoding bugged exchanges, unless the media has that wrong, so she would know better than to suppose her phon