‘You have a favourite part?’
‘I mean talking to witnesses in an enclosed space like this. It’s impossible to know who’s telling the truth and they’ve had a few days to make up fiction.’
Kelly nodded. It was unavoidable. Discovering the ID of Water Nymph had drawn their resources elsewhere.
‘Who’ve you spoken to? Some of the staff?’ Kelly asked.
‘The awful American woman giving orders out, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s told them all what to say.’
‘Tilda Dent? I thought she’d gone to Dow Bank House.’
Emma shrugged. ‘Well, she’s still here.’
‘There’s a lot at stake; she must be nervous,’ Kelly said.
‘They act so sycophantic around her, like they’re celebrities. Something about this feel-good conference doesn’t sit right with me,’ Emma said.
‘What exactly?’
‘I spoke to a couple of YouTubers who just left for Manchester Airport and I saw they had sachets ofYouthBlasttucked into their bags. I asked if they found it effective. They laughed and looked at me as if I was an idiot. “We don’t drink this stuff,” they said, “it’s just for Reels” and walked off.’
Kelly perched on a table next to her.
‘And that old guy, Melvin Stone? He’s back with his dog. He’s waiting for you, he said.’
Kelly raised her brows.
‘What I don’t understand is why they came to an average hotel in the middle of the Lake District for a conference attended by so much wealth you could write off the debt of an African nation between them,’ Emma said.
‘Average?’ Kelly asked.
‘Not for us, but to them, this is so… basic.’
Kelly contemplated what she said; Emma was right. It chimed with her earlier misgivings.
‘Do you think it’s a bit hidden away for a reason? Why not hold it at Dow Bank House?’ Emma asked.
The mention of the luxury estate got Kelly thinking.
‘Because it’s all a façade? They don’t need the money or the exposure,’ Emma said.
‘But they need the legitimacy,’ Kelly said. ‘Why?’
‘Did you see the catering? I mean, I know the staff have tried hard but these people are used to private jets flying crab a thousand miles for a snack. You know I once heard Barbra Streisand actually does that; she has this favourite crab place in Miami and she flies it to LA.’
‘Goodness me, that’s true?’ Kelly asked, incredulous.
‘It’s true.’
‘I can’t even afford bay shrimp bussed in from Morecambe,’ Kelly said.
They laughed.
‘What were you watching when I came in?’ Emma asked.
‘Clem Allins.’
‘Who?’
