Cover

Dedication

To Peter, who is my soulmate, my helpmate

and the most incredible support.

Except if we’re playing chess

when he’s a complete jerk!

August

Day 1: Saturday

Prologue

It was a quarter to six when Russell stepped out of the back door of Lamond Lodge. The air was still, only the dawn chorus breaking the quiet morning. He closed the door softly, not that it was likely to wake the rest of them. Not after last night.

Out to the east the sky grew lighter and he quickened his step, anxious not to miss the sunrise. He crunched across the gravel, stepping lightly onto the manicured grass. Something caught his eye – a movement through the trees – and then it was gone. A fox, or a deer maybe? He should have brought binoculars. There was bound to be a pair somewhere in the house. It seemed to have everything else.

He reached the wooden steps that led to the treetop walk and began to climb, taking them two at a time. As he gained height the scaly brown bark of the Scots pines became orange and he drew level with the flat-topped branches, admiring their blue-green needles. The elevated walk didn’t quite clear the crown of the trees but there were enough gaps to afford him a panoramic view in every direction. He looked first to the south-west, admiring the Lomond Hills, their ancient volcanic plugs the highest points in Fife. Far below he spotted a young deer, grazing on the long grass beyond the trees and he watched it for a moment. Then he swept his gaze round, admiring the steep gable roof of Lamond Lodge, and across the Eden Estuary, north, towards Dundee. The university town of St Andrews sat in the foreground bound by its two beaches, and he completed the circle, turning east to look out over the North Sea.

And then he watched as the light on the horizon became a glint of gold, spreading out across the sky. Best time of the day. They didn’t know what they were missing, back in the house. Down on the ground the deer stopped suddenly, raised its head for a moment then, with a kick and a flash of its white tail, it bolted across the field. Something had startled it but he couldn’t see what.

He didn’t see the gun, didn’t hear the shot. The sunrise exploded in his head and he spun round, falling like a stone to the floor of the walkway, a trickle of blood at his temple.

Chapter 1

‘Therefore, if anyone can show just cause why this man and this woman may not be joined together in marriage let him speak now or forever hold his peace.’