Breaker

be pretty friendly with a man to do that.'

Harding grinned. 'I don't see why. They're good photos. Admittedly he didn't think much of them, but that's his problem. He's pretty straight is old Will Sumner. Wouldn't show his tackle for anything, not even if he was starving, and certainly not in a gay mag.'

'I thought you said you didn't know him well.'

'I don't need to. You only have to look at him. He probably looked middle-aged when he was eighteen.'

Galbraith agreed with him, which made Kate's choice of a husband even odder, he thought. 'Still, it's an unusual thing to do, Steve, go around showing nude photos of yourself to other guys. Do you make a habit of it? Have you shown them around the yacht club, for example?'

'No.'

'Why not?'

Harding didn't answer.

'Maybe you just show them to husbands, eh?' Galbraith lifted an inquiring eyebrow. 'It's a great way to convince a man you've no designs on his wife. I mean if he thinks you're gay, he'll think you're safe, won't he? Is that why you did it?'

'I can't remember now. I expect I was drunk, and he was getting on my nerves.'

'Were you sleeping with his wife, Steve?'

'Don't be stupid,' said Harding crossly. 'I've already told you I hardly knew her.'

'Then the information we've been given that she wouldn't leave you alone and it was driving you mad is completely wrong?' said Carpenter.

Harding's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't answer.

'Did she ever come on board this boat?'

'No.'

'Are you sure?'

For the first time there was genuine nervousness in the man's manner. He hunched his shoulders over the table again and ran his tongue across dry lips. 'Look, I don't really get what all this is about. Okay, somebody drowned and I knew her-not very well, but I did know her. Okay-too-I can accept it looks like a bizarre coincidence that I was there when she was found-but, listen, I'm always meeting up with people I know. That's what sailing's about-bumping into guys that you had a drink with maybe two years before.'

'But that's the root of the problem,' said Galbraith reasonably. 'According to our information, Kate Sumner didn't sail. You've said yourself she was never on board Crazy Daze.'

'That doesn't mean she didn't accept a spur-of-the-moment invitation. There was a French Beneteau called Mirage anchored in Chapman's Pool yesterday. I saw her through the boys' binoculars. She was moored up in Berthon at the end of last week-I know that because they have this cute kid on board who wanted to know the code for the lavatories. Well-Jesus!-those French guys are just as likely to have met Kate as I was. Berthon's in Lymington, isn't it? Kate lives in Lymington. Maybe they took her for a spin?'

'It's a possibility,' agreed Carpenter. He watched Galbraith make a note. 'Did you catch the 'cute kid's' name, by any chance?'

Harding shook his head.

'Do you know of any other friends who might have taken Kate out on Saturday?'

'No. Like I said, I hardly knew her. But she must have had some. Everyone around here knows people who sail.'

Galbraith jerked his head toward the galley. 'Did you go shopping on Saturday morning before you left for Poole?' he asked.

'What's that got to do with anything?' Truculence was back in his voice again.

'It's a simple question. Did you buy the cheese and apples that are in your galley on Saturday morning?'

'Yes.'

'Did you meet Kate Sumner while you were in town?'

Harding hesitated before he replied. 'Yes,' he admitted then. 'She was outside Tesco's with her little girl.'

'What time was that?'

'Nine thirty, maybe.' He seized the whisky bottle again and laid it on its side, placing his forefinger against the neck and turning it slowly. 'I didn't hang around because I wanted to get off, and she was looking for some sandals for her child. We said hi and went our separate ways and that was it.'

'Did you invite her to go sailing with you?' asked Carpenter.

'No.' He lost interest in the bottle and abandoned it with its open neck pointing directly at the superintendent's chest like the barrel of a rifle. 'Look, I don't know what you think I've done,' he said, ratcheting up his irritation, 'but I'm damn sure you're not allowed to ask me questions like this. Shouldn't there be a tape recorder?'

'Not when people are merely helping us with our inquiries, sir,' said Carpenter mildly. 'As a general rule, the taping of interviews follows the cautioning of a suspect for an indictable offense. Such interviews can only be conducted in a police station, where the proper equipment allows an officer to insert a new blank tape into the recorder in front of the suspect.' He smiled without hostility. 'However, if you prefer, you can accompany us to Winfrith, where we will question you as a voluntary witness under taped conditions.'

'No way. I'm not leaving the boat.' He stretched his arms along the back of the settee and gripped the teak