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Clarissa yawned, too. ‘It’s so warm and cosy at your parents’ guest house – and quiet. Perhaps it’s the fact that it is detached and there are no neighbours either side. Although I can hear the waves lapping on the shore. So soothing …’
‘Do you want me to put some music on?’ Emily asked. They might not have television or Wi-Fi in the bedrooms, but Emily had brought her mp3 player to cast her playlist too.
‘In a bit,’ said Clarissa. She finished her glass of wine and lay down. Emily lay down too. They turned to face one another. Emily imagined this was just what sleepovers would have been like if she’d had any when she was a child. She decided to enjoy it while it lasted.
‘So, you were going to tell me more about Alice?’
Emily looked at Clarissa thoughtfully. ‘I don’t think there’s much else to tell.’ She paused. ‘Apart from one thing.’
‘Do tell …’
‘Well, it’s a bit odd.’
Clarissa grinned. ‘I like odd. It means there might be a little interesting kernel of a story in there.’
‘Well, it’s not much. It’s just when I mentioned the other guest who’s due to arrive. An Egyptian. She looked really surprised. She started asking questions about him. Of course, I don’t know anything much about him. That was yesterday, when she overheard me talking about the new guests coming. Then she asked today if he would be arriving soon.’
‘Do you think they know each other?’
‘I’m not sure. I mean, it could be anybody from Egypt – right?’
‘Yes, but how many Egyptians have you had to stay in the guest house over the years?’
‘One – I think.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, I joked about it with my mum, and she said they have had an Egyptian stay here before.’
‘Do you think it’s the same person?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well, can you find out?’
‘Sure. All I have to do is go through the ledgers. We have them going right back to when Mum first bought the house and turned it into a guest house. It was way before she had a computer, and she’s kept the paper ledgers going. Sort of old-fashioned if you ask me, but she likes to keep some of the old hotel traditions alive.’
‘So, you could see if it’s the same guest.’
‘That’s right.’
‘And while you’re at it, how’s this for an idea? You can find out if Alice stayed in the guest house at the same time as this Egyptian.’ It made her wonder if they might be old friends. It piqued her interest as to whether they had both stayed there, years earlier, before Alice married. Perhaps they had been lovers before they’d had to part ways; maybe she’d returned to her life and he’d returned to his, in Egypt.
‘How romantic,’ gushed Emily after Clarissa had shared her thoughts.
‘Assuming it’s the same person,’ commented Clarissa.
Emily nodded and yawned. ‘It will be a bit of a task. The books date back to before I was born.’
‘Then we’ll need help.’ Clarissa grinned. ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’
‘What are you thinking?’
‘With three of us going through the ledgers, we’ll do it in double-quick time.’
Emily looked at her. ‘You can’t be serious.’ She yawned in Clarissa’s face. ‘Sorry. But I thought we wanted to find out more about Joss, not Alice.’
Clarissa shrugged. ‘Why can’t it be a fact-finding mission about both of them? He can help us go through the ledgers while we chat.’
