“I came back to Georgetown around seven p.m. On the way I gave a lift to a cook from the US base.”

“Did you get his name?”

“No. He was young. His bike was having issues. He had boxes of mushrooms. After that I came home, rested, showered.”

“Changed clothes?”

“Yes.”

“What were you wearing before?”

Kane told them what he’d been wearing, and Morrogh instructed the corporal to go and communicate this information to the individuals searching Kane’s bungalow.

“You hadn’t been at the house in question since seven or eight p.m.,” he asked.

“No.”

“And you believe you locked it.”

“Yes, but the lock’s not very secure.”

“But Craig Riley had given you the key last night.”

“That’s right.”

In front of Morrogh was a notebook in which he’d carefully written timings for Kane. He occasionally glanced at the page as if it might guide him.

“Had you seen anyone acting suspiciously around the house before?”

“No. But I thought maybe someone had been in last night, while I was looking around Georgetown.”

Kane could feel the pressure of the people outside. He’d seen places turn riotous before. It happened in the blink of an eye. A car pulled up and there was a rapid knock. Morrogh opened the door and Kane saw the maroon shine of the Administrator’s Land Rover. Beyond it, a crowd of forty or fifty people watched the police station.

The Administrator walked in. Kane recognized him from pictures in the briefing file. Nigel Horsley was trim and tanned. He retained thick silvering hair with a slight wave to it that made it look artificial. He was the only man on the island Kane had seen wearing a suit.

“This is the suspect?” he said to Morrogh.

“Yes. He arrived yesterday.”

“Do you have your passport and visa on you?” Horsley asked.

Kane handed them over. Horsley flicked through the passport, checked the visa.

“Lauren’s father says he saw you trying to speak to her earlier,” the Administrator said. “At their home in Two Boats.”

“I was just passing. I asked for directions.”

“It’s a bit out of the way to be just passing.”

“I was lost.”

“And that’s all your interaction with her involved?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know anyone on this island before coming over?”

“No.”