Connibear and John Lansdown were still standing by the Land Rovers. They were looking at a tide table.

“Where are all the residents?” Savage asked.

“In the common room with one of the uniformed blokes.”

“So what’s the implication of the tide time?”

“Crucial, sir. High water was at 7.46 a.m. so there would have been no access to the island after 5.30 this morning.”

Savage turned to John. “ What about by boat?”

John shook his head. “Impossible in the sort of wind that there was this morning.”

“And what time did you find him?”

“Ten past nine. I’m quite certain because I was hoping to start the seawatch at nine and I realized that we wouldn’t make it.”

“Gillibry was still cut off from the mainland at that time?”

“Yes. It would be possible to start walking from the mainland then, but you wouldn’t be able to cross the gully until nearly ten.”

Talking to himself Savage said: “The pathologist should be able to give us a more accurate time of death.”

Then to John: “ There would have been no reason for Mr. Todd to be in the hide before 5.30?”

“None at all. He was there to do a seawatch. There would be no point in being there before it was light.”

“As far as you know, no one left the island after the tide this morning?” Savage looked at the flat expanse of shore and added: “It would be difficult to slip away unnoticed.”

John shook his head. “ I didn’t see anyone, and I think that I would have done, but you should ask George, George Palmer-Jones. He walked over straight after the tide and arrived at the same time as your Land Rovers.”

Savage looked up suddenly at the sound of the new name, but did not comment. “Since we arrived I’ve had two men searching the island and keeping an eye on the shore.” He turned to Connibear. “They haven’t turned anything up?”

“They’re not back yet.”

“Have you sorted out about an office?”

John answered. “ There’s the bird room,” he said tentatively. “We do the ringing there and it holds all the ringing equipment, but I use it as an office too. There’s a telephone extension, a desk, even an old typewriter if you needed it.”

“That sounds ideal.”

“Do you want to see it?”

But Savage felt suddenly impatient with these preliminaries. He wanted to get to the heart of the investigation immediately.

“Not yet,” he said. He turned to John and smiled, unexpectedly. “If you will, Mr. Lansdown, you’ll show me to the common room. I think it’s time for me to meet everyone.”

Chapter Four

In the common room they sat separately, without talking. Occasionally, as if it were some nervous tic, Doctor Derbyshire cleared his throat, seemed about to speak, but never did. Jasmine Carson still read the bird log, but the hand which held the book was shaking, and once she wiped tears from her eyes.