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When Mary got together with Ryan, Joanie had sent her some new lingerie, with a card on which she had written Welcome to the Club.

‘He’s eight years younger,’ Mary said. ‘Which makes him nearly forty. It’s hardly the same as your barman. And it’s not the age. He’s married.’

‘Maybe he’s the type who takes his marriage vows less seriously than some?’ Joanie said. ‘That’s not my problem, though.’

Mary puffed out her cheeks. ‘Anyway, that’s not why I’m calling. Do you know anything about him and his family?’

‘Not much. They were living in Boston. Some suburb. Like everybody else down there, post-pandemic they wanted to move to Maine. Good place to raise their daughter, that old story. They were really keen on this specific house, though.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘There are a few others on the market, but their realtor told me they wanted this one. In particular, he did, she said.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. He was very insistent. Probably because it’s a fixer-upper. It needs a ton of work. They can make some money on it. Although generally when people want a fixer-upper they try to pay less for it. They came in way over asking. I won’t give you the number, but if I did you’d be surprised. I’ll leave it at that.’

‘I thought everyone paid over asking in this market?’

‘Ten percent, maybe. But they were a long way above that.’

‘For a fixer-upper?’ Mary said. ‘Is that a bit weird?’

‘Maybe. But maybe not. Perhaps they’d heard stories of people losing houses. And their realtor said they – he, mainly – really loved this place. She said this was the first and only house they considered.’

‘He – they – must have fallen in love with it at the viewing.’

‘Nope. There was no viewing. They bought it unseen, no inspection, for cash.’

Mary paused. So they had paid over the odds for this house, this specific house.

It was a nice neighbourhood, for sure, but that nice? Or was there some other reason they wanted it?

‘Trust fund kids, is my guess,’ Joanie said. ‘Money no object. She doesn’t work, if I remember correctly, and he’s some kind of therapist. Either way, it worked out well for me!’

‘And that’s all that matters,’ Mary said. ‘By the way, did you mention me at all?’

‘To the buyer? No. Why would I?’

Mary paused. ‘To the other realtor?’

‘Not other than to say you’d be good neighbours.’ She paused. ‘Lying convincingly is a key skill in the real estate game.’

‘Very funny. Who was the other realtor?’

‘This is a lot of questions,’ Joanie said. ‘Is something going on?’

‘Probably nothing. I met him for the second time this evening and he knew my full name, but I don’t think I’d told him it.’

‘Well, the other realtor was out of Portland, so she wouldn’t know you. But he could probably have found out, if he wanted.’

‘How?’

‘Search your address. Your name is on a bunch of records.’

‘Would you do that, though?’

‘I don’t know,’ Joanie said. ‘Some people might. Who knows? Maybe he’s been stalking you – perhaps he has a thing for sexy older women – and as soon as the house came on the market he snapped it up to be near you.’