‘Oh yes, love.’ She poked her head out of the bathroom, glasses fogged with steam from the kettle. ‘Sky Lodge’s main house was booked out, and I’m getting on a bit to trudge through the snow from those lovely chalets. Michael thought it would be better if we stayed over here anyway, though it’s been a while since I slept in a bunk bed. But why not? I suppose with what we’re doing and everything, that makes it feel like more of an adventure.’

I was thrown by the fact they were expecting Michael, and even more so by their attitude. I was expecting hostility, or even fear, but not . . . excitement? No one else in this room knew who the McAuleys were, so it was up to me to keep the conversation going, but I didn’t know how. I could hardly come out with the fact the body of their long-dead daughter was just over the ridge.

‘Well’—Edgar did it for me—‘did you find her?’

That was enough for me to form a pretty good idea of what was going on. I thought I’d try to play along as best I could and see if my guesswork was correct. ‘Yes, we found her,’ I said, ignoring Andy’s bulging eyes beside me. I could tell what he was thinking: Who was she? ‘There have been some complications, though.’

‘He wants more money again,’ Siobhan announced, emerging from the bathroom with two cups of scalding tea. But she didn’t seem put off or offended at all, calmly handing us the mugs. ‘It’s okay, love, we thought Michael might. We brought extra.’ She nudged their makeshift table-suitcase.

‘Can you just . . .’ I hesitated, not sure what to tell them. They seemed to not know Michael was dead. In fact, they thought I was here on his behalf. Then again, it could have been an act, in which case it would serve me better to keep some cards close to my chest and try to catch them in a lie. ‘Would you mind just helping me out with a few of the details first?’ They looked confused at that, so I hurried an explanation, making my smile as relaxed and welcoming as I could, laughing it off. ‘It’s just . . . family, you know? My brother gets me into stuff. Sends me up here without telling me much. I’m just trying to see that the price is fair. Not’—I waved my hand towards the suitcase, hoping to make them feel comfortable that I wasn’t extorting them—‘from you. Just family stuff, you know?’ They still didn’t look convinced, swapping side eyes at each other, so I threw in, ‘Like I said, we have found her.’

That seemed to be a carrot well enough dangled, because Edgar said, ‘What do you want to know?’

I gambled. ‘How much have you given him so far?’

‘Half,’ said Edgar.