Page 74 of The Chapel of Bones

This caused a rueful smile. ‘We wanted to be different. Rebellious. We thought calling ourselves after a couple of Greek gods made us more . . . romantic. It was your idea, wasn’t it, Betsy?’

She nodded. ‘Silly when you look back. And life gets in the way of that sort of thing eventually.’

‘You say Carlo was a student.’ Wesley leaned forward. ‘What was he studying? And where?’

‘He was vague about it, but I think he was studying at Morbay.’

‘Subject?’ Gerry sounded impatient.

‘History, I think,’ said Betsy. ‘He was interested in the ruined chapel in the grounds. Used to spend a lot of time there. Meditating, he said.’

‘A man called Jim Baker lived at the house too, I believe.’

‘He only stayed a short while. He was into drugs, heavy stuff: acid and mushrooms. Eventually he went off to live with some girlfriend.’

‘When was this?’

‘It must have been around the time Tim took over. Tim was very choosy about who lived at Casa Mirabilis, and he said Carlo and Jim didn’t fit in with his ethos.’ She glanced at her partner. ‘But we did.’

Wesley and Gerry exchanged a look. Baker had been telling the truth about this at least.

‘Let’s get back to Carlo Lanzani. Can you describe him?’

It was Barnaby who answered. ‘Average height. Longish mousy hair. Very intense. Never saw him smile. Claimed he wanted to write fantasy and he was going to be the best thing since Tolkien. He was fascinated by wild animals; even said he was going to go to Africa to work with wildlife. We all had our dreams back then,’ he added sadly.

‘Did he ever mention that a lanzani was some kind of fearsome beast?’

They shook their heads.

‘He didn’t say anything about his background? His family?’

There were a few moments of hesitation before Barnaby answered. ‘He got quite drunk one time and said his father had married an evil woman and he was going to get his revenge. Like I said, he was very intense. Looking back, there was something a bit . . . unsettling about him, don’t you think, Betsy?’

‘Barnaby’s right. He made me uncomfortable. Maybe that’s why I avoided him and we stuck to our bit of the house. I admit I was quite glad when Tim asked him to leave.’

‘Did he ever mention the name of this wicked stepmother?’

‘He never went into any details, and he wasn’t the sort of person you could ask.’

‘The man whose body was found sealed up behind the dining room wall. Dr Aleric Donnal—’

‘We said we’d never heard of him, and that’s the truth.’

‘The thing is, he taught in the history department of Morbay University. The university where you think Carlo Lanzani was studying. That’s a connection between one of the residents of St Julian’s and the murder victim.’

The couple looked puzzled – and worried, as if murder had strayed too close to home.

‘We really need to find this Carlo Lanzani,’ Gerry said. ‘Have you any idea where he might be?’

The couple both shook their heads.

‘Please think,’ said Wesley.

A long silence followed. Then suddenly Betsy spoke. ‘A few weeks ago I was driving through Neston after picking up supplies of dog food when I had to stop at the traffic lights by the bridge. A man was crossing the road in front of me and I thought he looked very like Carlo. Could have been his double. He was a lot older, of course. And he had a lot more hair when we knew him.’

‘Can you describe him?’ Wesley asked, hoping this would prove to be the lead they’d been waiting for.

Betsy suddenly looked unsure of herself. ‘It probably wasn’t him. The traffic lights changed and I had to drive off, so I only caught a glimpse.’