“Go on.”

Kane killed the headlights, slowed.

“Can’t see her,” the electrician said.

“She’s out there.”

“Who’s that?” Kane asked.

“The Crystal Symphony,” the doctor said. “A cruise ship. Comes a couple of times a year.”

“Meant to be docking here in the morning. But she won’t make it with a sea like this. A lot of people will lose money.”

“The passengers come onto the island looking for turtles,” Nulty explained. “On here for a few hours, but they’ll buy anything with a turtle on it.”

“They give them lectures about the turtles when they’re on the ship. Get them all excited.”

“But the Administrator has said no go,” Nulty explained. “Order is not to use the wharf until the swell dies down.”

“So long as the tanker gets here next week,” Frankie said.

“We get oil deliveries,” the doctor explained. “Like milk deliveries, only through a big hose. It’s quite a sight.”

“I bet.”

“Did you know, when the Americans scarpered at the end of the Second World War they left so much oil behind, it kept the island running for fifteen years. Did you know that?”

“I didn’t know that,” Kane said.

“There’s some history for you.” The doctor sucked his cigar and looked out to the sea. The men grew quieter as they approached the north coast, until it was just the electrician giving directions onto ever smaller roads winding through the rocks. Kane wondered what environment he was about to enter, what he would have to turn a blind eye toward for the sake of maintaining cover. If there were children present, he wondered what his response could be. He’d had to suppress moral objections before while playing a role, but nothing like this. He was also aware that he may be being lured somewhere for other purposes. The doctor and the electrician would know the men Kane had confronted last night. He thought back over the previous couple of hours and wondered if there’d been any opportunity for the two men to coordinate this behind his back. Directed into isolation, five men on one, a blow to the head . . . When Kane heard music and voices ahead, he felt both relief and caution.

“This is it.”

Kane pulled in beside several cars already parked up. He thought of Thomas’s account of the secret parties and looked for the Administrator’s Land Rover, but it wasn’t there. Nor were either of the police cars, although there was an army-green RAF truck.