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eyes, a clenched jaw—something, anything—but there was nothing, not even a blink.
“I had no idea you knew Christian West before you were admitted to the Grove. You saw him privately for several years. You obviously recognized him when he first came to work here—a few
months after your arrival. It must have been confusing when he didn’t acknowledge you. And probably quite upsetting, I imagine?”
I asked it as a question, but there was no reply. Christian seemed of little interest to her. Alicia looked away, bored, disappointed—as if I had missed some opportunity, gone down the wrong track. She had been expecting something from me, something I had failed to deliver.
Well, I wasn’t done yet.
“There’s something else. The diary raises certain questions—questions that need answering. Certain things don’t make sense, don’t fit with information I have from other sources. Now that you’ve allowed me to read it, I feel obliged to investigate further. I hope you understand that.”
I gave Alicia back the diary. She took it and rested her fingers on it. We stared at each other for a moment.
“I’m on your side, Alicia,” I said eventually. “You know that, don’t you?” She didn’t say anything.
I took that as a yes.