I’d had enough too, but I wanted my exit to be rather more quiet and unobtrusive than Selwyn’s. Perhaps, I thought, I could catch the little Welshman outside, and talk to him about what we had just seen. But as I quietly stepped towards the open patio door and made my way out past the pool, I could feel all of their eyes boring into my back regardless.

I quickened my pace, walking all the way around the side of the hotel until I was back at the front entrance. I breathed in deep, feeling as if my lungs were clogged with soot and ashes.

I couldn’t see Selwyn Rudd anywhere, but then my attention was drawn towards a figure making its way along the road by the harbour. Whoever it was, it clearly wasn’t Selwyn, particularly since it was coming towards the hotel, rather than away from it. It wasn’t until the figure drew closer that I saw it was Chloe, the woman Yuichi had run off to speak to. It struck me in that moment, now that I could see her more clearly and she wasn’t actively fleeing from my presence, that she was actually quite beautiful.

‘Hi,’ I said, stepping towards her. She appeared once again to be deep in contemplation. She looked up and saw me, slowly coming to a halt near the hotel steps. This time, at least, she didn’t look as if she was going to run away, even though she regarded me with nearly as much trepidation as before.

I nodded towards the bar, Casey’s amplified voice still booming noisily through the air. ‘So how come you weren’t in there with the rest of them?’ I asked.

She shook her head. ‘Because . . .’ I waited as she searched for the right words. ‘Because I knew Casey was just going to do his best to remind everyone he’s an attention-seeking moron.’

‘So you know what he’s doing in there?’

‘I was on that expedition with him,’ she replied. Her whole body seemed tense with nervous energy. ‘I’ve seen the footage already. Having to watch it first time around was bad enough.’

I glanced back towards the entrance at a sudden squeal of feedback, followed by a murmur of voices. Someone put on some music, and I guessed the show was finally over.

‘I think they’re done in there,’ I said. I patted my pockets as if I was looking for a wallet, then looked up at her with a frown. ‘I’d stand you a drink, but I’m a little short right now.’

That got a flicker of a smile, and I realized that her cheeks were damp with tears.

‘Look,’ I said carefully, ‘I don’t know if this makes any sense, but I have the weirdest feeling that we got off on the wrong foot somehow. So if there’s anything at all I can do to—’