‘Are you lot hungry?’ Hugh called to the children, who were racing about the park playing tag.

‘A little bit,’ Alice-Miranda called back.

‘Let’s go and get something to eat then.’

‘Okay,’ the children agreed, and ran to the bench where Hugh and Lawrence were sitting.

‘What do you feel like for lunch?’ Lawrence asked them. ‘Your father and I were thinking sushi.’

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Sounds good.’

Lawrence noticed Jacinta’s mouth drop. ‘Oh Jacinta, there is nothing better than fresh raw salmon. It melts in your mouth.’

‘It can melt in yours but it won’t be going anywhere near mine,’ she said, shuddering.

‘You know, I had some when I was in LA with Dad and it’s actually pretty good,’ said Lucas.

‘Really? You’re not just saying that so you can watch me making faces, are you?’ Jacinta asked.

‘No, of course not,’ Lucas said, smiling. ‘You know I wouldn’t do that to you.’

Jacinta grinned back. ‘Maybe I will try it. Just a little bit.’

Lucas winked and Jacinta’s cheeks turned pink.

Millie turned to Alice-Miranda and pretended to put her finger down her throat.

Hugh and Lawrence stood up and the group wandered out of the park.

‘I think there’s a sushi place towards the end of our road,’ Hugh said. ‘I spotted it when we were walking back from the railway station.’

Alice-Miranda and Millie walked in front of Jacinta and Lucas, with Hugh and Lawrence bringing up the rear. As they reached the corner near the inn, Alice-Miranda turned and called to her father. ‘Daddy, can I run up and get my cardigan?’

‘That’s fine, darling. We’ll wait outside for you.’

‘I’ll come too,’ Millie said. She needed to use the toilet.

The girls dashed through the front door, kicked off their shoes and stuffed their feet into their slippers.

‘Konnichiwa, Aki,’ they called as they ran past the woman at the reception desk. She had her head down and seemed focused on something.

‘Oh, you are back sooner than I thought,’ Aki said, finally looking up. She sped out from behind the desk, annoyed with herself for allowing the demanding man to stay upstairs when he insisted she find him a brochure about the inn.

The girls bounded up the stairs and were almost bowled over by a man in a black suit.

‘Sumimasen,’ Millie apologised. Alice-Miranda did too. The man said nothing, but his dark eyes seemed to drill right through them.

The girls stopped at the top of the landing.

‘Wasn’t he the man from the alley?’ Millie whispered. ‘He’s creepy.’

They could hear Aki speaking with him downstairs in the hall. They couldn’t understand any of the conversation but it didn’t sound as if he was pleased.

‘Are there any spare rooms up here?’ Millie asked, looking along the hallway. As far as she could tell, their party occupied everything on this level.

Alice-Miranda mentally ticked off each room. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Then what’s he doing here?’ Millie said. ‘He must be a pap. We’ll have to tell Lawrence and your father and find out how he got in here in the first place.’

‘Aki doesn’t sound very happy,’ said Alice-Miranda. She pulled the key from her pocket, opened their door and rushed over to the cupboard. She grabbed her favourite pink cardigan while Millie ducked into the loo.

‘We should ask Aki about that man,’ Millie said as the two girls charged back downstairs. But the woman wasn’t at the desk.

‘Don’t worry, Millie. I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation,’ Alice-Miranda replied, although she wasn’t so sure of that herself.

‘He might be outside,’ Millie said. ‘We could ask him what he was doing.’ The girls slipped their shoes back on and hurried out onto the street. But there was no sign of the man.

‘Daddy, did you see a man in a black suit come out of the inn?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

Her father shook his head. ‘Sorry, darling. Lawrence and I have been engrossed in the architecture of the house across the street – interesting, isn’t it? Why do you ask?’

‘We saw two men in the alley earlier. Then we bumped into one of them on the stairs just now, and he was acting a little strangely,’ Alice-Miranda said.

‘I saw him,’ Lucas said. ‘Another man rushed around from the alley and the guy you’re talking about came out of the inn right at the same time. They headed that way.’ He pointed in the direction of the park. ‘If they’re here to take photos they must have the world’s smallest cameras.’

‘Anyway, I’m sure they’re not paps,’ Lucas said. ‘They walked straight past Dad.’

Hugh frowned. ‘I’ll ask Aki if she knows anything when we get back.’

Alice-Miranda nodded. It certainly was a mystery.