Down at the quay, Raymond was waiting in the launch with the engine already turning over. There was one thing you had to say about El Cerco: the place ran with machinelike efficiency. I dropped into the boat, and said, ‘Thanks, Raymond,’ and we shot off across the lagoon.

John was waiting on the island. ‘Mrs Salton is engaged at the moment. She asks you to wait a few minutes.’

‘All right,’ I said.

‘This way, sir.’

I followed him through that quiet and beautiful house to one of the indoor patios, where I found my principal employer just finishing what could have been breakfast. Lord Hosmer looked very tired – flights across time zones hit older people very hard. He looked up as I arrived. ‘Didn’t expect to see you so soon. I left a message at your hotel only an hour ago.’

I hadn’t expected to see him at all. Costello had given me the impression that Hosmer would call off his trip. ‘I didn’t get your message,’ I said. ‘I was coming here anyway.’

He looked up at me, sharpness in his faded blue eyes. ‘Why?’

I recalled that he was Jill Salton’s uncle. ‘Just to say goodbye to Mrs Salton.’

‘You’ve finished your work here?’

‘Yes. I just have to write a report for Costello.’

‘Good. Then there’s nothing to keep you here.’ He flicked his hand at a chair. ‘Sit down, Kemp. Bad business, this – about Ogilvie, I mean.’

‘How did Mrs Ogilvie take it?’

He dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. ‘Not well. We had some trouble in persuading her not to come. What arrangements are being made about the … er … the body?’

‘It will be released after the inquest, say, in two or three days. I suggest it should be flown to England, not shipped. There’s no point in dragging things out for Mrs Ogilvie.’

He nodded. ‘Very wise. Before you leave, you’d better see a local undertaker. You can do that this afternoon, I suppose. And you can leave tomorrow.’

Hosmer seemed to be taking a lot for granted. I said, ‘I may not be able to leave that soon. The police want me to stay. They think I can help them.’

‘Would that be Superintendent Hanna?’

‘Yes.’ Hosmer seemed to be clued up about the local force.

He flapped his napkin. ‘Forget about him,’ he said tersely. ‘I’ll handle that end at a higher level.’

I studied the old man thoughtfully. ‘Don’t you think it would be better if I stayed? If the police think I might be some help in finding out who killed Ogilvie, then I think I should stay. Apart from anything else, it’s good public relations.’

‘I don’t give a damn about public relations. You’re needed back in London.’