‘I wasn’t here.’ Torode was offended. ‘She spoke to Wilson and he said yes. He’s the forensic coordinator and not bad at his job, but of course it was bloody stupid, letting her leave the house.’

‘So where were you?’

‘I was over in the Buggery or the Snuggery, or whatever it’s called.’

Hawthorne didn’t comment on this. ‘Did she take a car?’ he asked.

‘She went on foot. Mrs Carlisle went up and did the bedroom, changed the sheets and all the rest of it, then waited for her to come back. Except she didn’t. She went out at two o’clock. Since then, there’s been no sign of her.’

‘Have you tried calling her?’

‘Her mobile’s upstairs.’

Hawthorne considered. ‘Where is Mrs Carlisle?’

‘Through here. But I’m warning you, you’ll find it hard to get a word in edgeways.’

Nora Carlisle was sitting in the sun lounge, perched on a wicker chair. The walls had been slid back into their correct positions, creating a much smaller space, hemmed in by potted plants. This was where the band had played the night before. She was a small, neat, serious woman, aged about fifty. Torode introduced us and we sat down on a sofa opposite her.

‘This must be very upsetting for you,’ Hawthorne began.

‘Of course it is. Of course it is. I’ve worked for Mrs Lem for twelve years. To come here this morning and find all these police officers here and the house turned upside down, well, I couldn’t believe it. And then I heard! Well, I’m telling you, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do Mr Lem any harm. He’s done so much for the island . . . not that he was ever here that often. He was a very successful businessman, always jetting off all around the world. Mrs Lem was in a real state when I got here. The two of them were a perfect couple and I don’t care what people say. He never came home without something special for her. She loved him and he loved her. You can take it from me.’

‘So tell me about Mrs le Mesurier’s movements today.’

‘She was very glad to see me, poor thing. You’d have thought somebody would have been looking after her, but she was all on her own with complete strangers rampaging around the place. I left her in the bedroom while I did the housework and made her some lunch and after we’d eaten she said she wanted to go out. That was two o’clock. I wanted to go with her, but she insisted she’d be all right on her own.’

‘She didn’t say where she was going.’