John did as he was told and put the bottle and the glasses on a coffee table, which he placed in front of the settee. Unobtrusively, I nudged the coffee table further away with my foot; I didn’t want to be hampered if I had to move quickly.

John also took some bottles of Coca-Cola from a concealed refrigerator and Bette said, ‘I’ll have a seltzer.’ She grinned at me. ‘You may be easy to fool, Kemp, but I’m not. If you’re thinking of getting me drunk, forget it.’

I poured rum into a glass and added Coke. ‘Leotta?’

‘Not for me.’

‘How about you, Jill?’

She opened her eyes. ‘I want to leave here,’ she said breathlessly, and started to get up.

I pushed her down smartly. ‘Get a grip. You won’t help by becoming hysterical.’ I poured neat rum into a glass and wrapped her hand around it. ‘Drink,’ I said.

Like a child she obeyed and choked as the neat spirit hit her gullet. She blinked rapidly and some of the glaze seemed to leave her eyes. ‘Just take it easy and sit quietly,’ I said.

‘Very touching,’ said Bette. She looked over at John. ‘Have a drink, Johnny boy. Your serving days are over and the booze is free.’

‘I don’t drink,’ said John stolidly.

‘Suit yourself.’ She settled back, leaning against the chair as though preparing herself for a long wait.

Nightfall, I thought. Philips said that she would be picked up at nightfall. I sipped the weak rum and Coke and wondered what would happen at nightfall. An hour and a half to wait.

II

In circumstances like that, ten minutes can seem like ten hours and the silence eventually got on Bette Haslam’s nerves. She moved uncomfortably on the arm of the chair and said at last, ‘What’s the matter? Cat got your tongues?’

I looked at her over the rim of the glass. ‘All right. Why are you here on El Cerco, and not over there on the mainland with your husband?’

She scowled. ‘You’re a pain in the ass, aren’t you, Kemp? Have been ever since you arrived, and now here you are again. It was only supposed to be Mrs Salton out here, and we’d already cut her off from civilisation. Then we saw your flashy speedboat come in and we had to do something about it. So think of me as your babysitter.’

She fell into silence again so I tried another angle. ‘Why did you kill David Salton?’

I felt Jill jerk and dug my elbow into her ribs to quieten her. Bette said, ‘He was alive when I saw him last.’

‘Which wasn’t in the plane,’ I said. ‘It was in the dinghy.’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’