After a theatre trip, Joanna and Paul have supper in Soho and joke about the play, ice-cream at intervals, and the small habits that make them love each other. Beneath the light conversation, Joanna has a specific concern: since Holly Lewis was murdered, Paul has said little about her, despite having known her for years.

Joanna asks directly about Paul’s grief and then about why Holly missed their wedding. Paul admits they had argued, with Holly accusing him of deliberately choosing a weekday wedding. Joanna presses further and concludes that Holly’s reaction makes sense only if she and Paul had once been more than friends. Paul finally admits they dated on and off in their twenties and then again about eighteen months, ending shortly before he met Joanna.

From that, Joanna understands Holly’s likely resentment: Paul ended the relationship, moved on quickly, and married Joanna within six months. Paul describes Holly as difficult and unpredictable, but refuses to speak cruelly about her. Joanna reassures him that his past relationship does not threaten their marriage, and she classifies his silence as a small lie born of embarrassment rather than evidence of something larger.

Joanna then turns to the investigation. She warns Paul that the police will probably want to question him, because a recent former lover being murdered is bound to attract attention. Paul says he fears people will assume he knows more than he does, but insists he knows nothing about Holly’s business, who killed her, or where Nick might have gone.

When Joanna asks if he is hiding anything else, Paul confesses only that he feels guilty for not grieving Holly as deeply as he thinks he should. Joanna tells him grief is not rational and gives an example from her own life to make the point. Finally, still thinking practically, Joanna asks whether Paul can guess Holly’s six-digit code; he cannot, though he says Holly was born in 1976. The evening ends with Joanna planning to speak to Joyce, reflecting that murder is oddly easier for them to discuss than many ordinary family feelings.