"But how do I know you'll tell me the truth?"
"How do we know you're telling the truth?"
"All right, I'll give you a pound. I shall still have to buy it from the pawnshop, you know."
"It isn't in a pawnshop," the man said. "I sold it to a stone-breaker."
"W-h-a-t!" cried Erica in a despairing wail. "Do I have to begin looking for someone else?"
"Oh, no need to look, no need at all. You hand over the cash, and I'll tell you where to find the bloke."
Erica took out a pound note and showed it to him. "Well?"
"He's working at the Five Wents crossroad, Paddock Wood way. And if he ain't there, he lives in a cottage in Capel. Near the church."
Erica held out the note. But the woman had seen the contents of the purse.
"Wait, Harry! She'll pay more." She moved between Erica and the path through the wood.