I laughed. ‘Bit like Russell where the women are concerned too.’

‘Yes, well, you just have to keep saying no. My guess is he quits after a hundred.’

‘I’ll tell Helen.’

I noticed the thinly plucked eyebrows then which were oddly nice in her full face. She lifted them and opened her lazy dark eyes wide. ‘Is that your wife?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘Tell me about the fan mail.’

A sound like a soft cheer went up from the workers. Trudi swung around in her chair. ‘What?’

A young man wearing overalls over his shirt and suit pants gave her a thumbs-up sign. ‘American stuff’s okay.’

‘I thought they’d found the booze,’ I said.

The young man came over and showed Trudi a file box that looked as if a few drops of water might have been spilled on it. ‘You know, it must’ve been rigged so as not really to do that much damage at all,’ he said. Then he remembered and blushed. Trudi took the box.

‘Thanks, Gary. When do the carpenters and painters get here?’

‘They’re late already.’

‘Okay. Take a break.’

I turned my head to look at the file box and wondered if I was cleared to open it. Trudi moved it away. ‘You seem to be in charge here,’ I said.

‘Sort of. Secretary, adviser, hand-holder…’

I looked around the damaged room. The bomb had been placed behind the portable air conditioner which was tucked away in a corner of the office. Alison Marshall had been using the top of it to collate some papers because she didn’t have enough desk space. I’d seen a lot of fires in my insurance investigator days; I guessed this one was electrical and probably an accident.

‘It doesn’t look as if it was meant to take you all out,’ I said.

‘The police have got stuff on that-charges and timers and so on. I heard Peter talking to them. I suppose you’d better too.’