Afterwards Ruth emails Eileen ?Just checking you抮e OK? ?but doesn抰 get any answer. Has Eileen gone home? Ruth hopes so. She wonders if Nelson has had any luck tracing Joe. She hasn抰 spoken to him since he left on Sunday morning. She wonders how he抯 getting on with Laura and whether seeing his daughter, who looks very like her mother, is making him miss Michelle. She also sincerely hopes that Laura is feeling better. She抯 very fond of Nelson抯 daughter and Kate adores her. It抯 all very complicated.
Kate has already finished the work set by the school and is embarking on another Lego construction. Ruth wonders if they should go out for a walk. Cathbad unexpectedly cancelled yoga this morning so they haven抰 had any fresh air. But she can抰 face disturbing Kate, so she goes back to her laptop and starts to prepare her next lecture. Excavating human remains.
Judy rings Bethany Flowers but there抯 no answer. She leaves a message and, keen to escape from the police station and Tanya抯 at-desk fitness regime ?she stands up every fifteen minutes and performs lunges ?decides to drive into Hunstanton. The library and the church are both shut. There抯 a note on the latter giving Mother Wendy抯 number in case of emergencies. Judy writes it down, wondering whether it抯 worth asking the vicar more about Avril抯 state of mind. Of course she was worried. That抯 what the church is here for. For worried people.
It抯 a sunny morning. Sunny Hunny, Judy抯 parents used to call the town, and it抯 certainly living up to its name today. Judy drives to the seafront and walks along the promenade. There are a few people walking along the beach, but the funfair is shrouded under plastic sheeting and there抯 police tape across the band stand. Of course, it抯 still only March. Will the tourists flock back in summer, even if everything is still shut? If so, it will be up to the local police to send them home. Judy walks back to her car, remembering trips to the sea-life centre and rides on the Tractor Train. However much she enjoys having the beach to herself there抯 something very sad about an empty seaside resort.
On impulse, Judy drives to Hugh Baxter抯 house. The garden is as neat as ever, now full of daffodils and tulips. Hugh Baxter answers the door almost before she knocks. He抯 dressed, as before, in a neat shirt and tie, slacks and leather slippers.
慏I Johnson,?he says. 慔ow nice to see you again.?
Judy is touched that he抯 remembered her name （and got her rank right） but somehow sad that he抯 so pleased to see her. How many visitors does the old man get? she wonders. Vulnerable people are being told to shield which, in practice, means never leaving their house.
慖 just wondered how you were,?she says. 慖 can抰 come in, I抦 afraid, and we should keep two metres apart.?She says this because Hugh has moved closer, peering short-sightedly.
慖抦 fine,?says Hugh, backing away. 慖 do my exercises every morning and go for a walk round the block. And I like watching the birds in the garden.?
慦hat about food??says Judy. 慉re you managing OK??
慣he local Co-op delivers,?says Hugh. 慉nd I don抰 eat that much.?
Judy抯 heart contracts but the comment reminds her of the purpose of her visit.
慖 know it抯 a strange question,?she says, 慴ut did Avril go to Lean Zone meetings? It抯 a slimming group.?
But Hugh answers immediately. 慪es, she did. Not that she needed to lose weight. But you ladies are all the same. Even my late wife was, and she was as slim as anything.?
Judy doesn抰 argue with this although she抯 never dieted in her life. She knows that old people have different attitudes. Her grandmother keeps asking when Cathbad is going to make an honest woman of her.
慏o you remember if Avril had any friends in the group??
慣here was one woman. A nurse, I think. Avril used to talk about her sometimes.?
慍an you remember her name??
慛o, but it might come back to me. Sometimes things come back to me in the middle of the night.?
慦ell, if it does, could you give me a ring? I抎 be very grateful.?Judy hands over her card.