‘This is Gavin.’ Juliette put a hand on his arm. They seemed to know each other well; I assumed there were quickly forged friendships between seasonal workers. Not well enough for her to tell him about Michael’s murder, though, or he wouldn’t have been asking. ‘The weather’s getting worse, and the Oversnow’—she patted the side of the bus-tank, which gave a hollow thunk—‘is our only option down the mountain. Gavin’s offered to take us.’

‘But we have to go now,’ Gavin added, looking nervously at the sky.

‘Without Lucy?’ Erin asked.

‘This is our window.’ He shrugged. ‘You’ve got all the cops. I’m on my own. Which means I’ve got my own staff to worry about.’

‘We’ve got one cop,’ Marcelo corrected. ‘And barely that. Listen, it’s all of us or none of us. We’re family.’

It struck me as a strange thing for him to say, Lucy being his ex-stepdaughter-in-law, but I knew that the Garcias’ policy on hyphens was different to my own. Besides, if clashing with the law was a Cunningham trait, Lucy had copped that speeding fine on the way up, so I guess she was one of us after all.

‘I appreciate you coming over,’ Juliette said. ‘But we can’t leave her. Take us on one loop. I’ll owe you.’

‘Shots?’

‘Shots. Just like Whistler.’

The memory of an assumedly wild night perked him up so much his sunnies changed colour. ‘Right, who’s coming with me then?’

‘I’ll come.’ I suspected Andy volunteered because the unwashed pheromones of a gap-year were mingling with his middle-aged regrets, and he associated movement with usefulness, or perhaps he just wanted a ride in the big clanky thing.

I felt Erin bump me. One of us should go. ‘Me too,’ I said.

Gavin seemed to notice me for the first time and held out a North Face glove in greeting. I raised my oven mitt, apologetically declining.

‘Nice glove, dude,’ he said.

Crawford moved to follow the volunteers, but Juliette stepped in front of him. ‘You should stay here and keep control of things. Erin, Marcelo – help Katherine and Audrey search the rest of this place. Sofia’—she looked her up and down—‘to be honest, you look like you need a lie-down.’ Sofia nodded gratefully. ‘Gav, I’ll come too and look at those papers. I know.’ She must have seen his eyes light up. ‘Don’t push it. Just a look. Ernest and Andrew, hop in.’

I was impressed that she knew all of our names, and told her as much. She shrugged and said that if the rollcall kept getting shorter, she’d have no trouble at all. That got a grin out of me, dark as it was. I realised I was glad she was coming with us.