He nodded again. ‘Doc prescribed something, diazepam, I think. But she didn’t take them. Said they made her fuzzy and she had to be sharp for her TV show.’

‘Go on.’

‘So, next thing I know, I’m being introduced to a dead man. David Fox.’ He shook his head again.

Clare said, ‘Did he explain where he’d been all these years?’

‘Sort of. Something about having travelled inland on Christmas Day. Being lucky enough to miss the tsunami. And then he just kept on going.’ Luke shook his head. ‘I don’t think he thought about his family. What they’d be going through.’

‘It must have been very emotional,’ Chris said. ‘For Gaby, at least.’

He smiled. ‘Yes, she was so excited.’

‘And how did you feel?’ Chris asked.

‘To be honest, Sergeant, I didn’t know what to think. It was such a shock.’

‘I can imagine,’ Clare said. She rubbed her head, thinking for a minute. ‘And did David join the party? No one at the Lodge mentioned him.’

‘Not as far as I know. He wasn’t at the Lodge when we arrived back from the wedding.’ He shook his head. ‘I can only guess he changed his plans.’

Clare glanced at Chris. ‘Can you explain that please, Luke?’

‘I’ll try.’ He broke off for a moment then said, ‘David, I think he’s always been a bit of an odd lad but he was so scruffy, dressed like he’d fallen off a flitting. Anyway, he starts talking about where he’d been living for the past few weeks – right here in St Andrews at some homeless shelter.’ He nodded again as if to emphasise this. ‘So I said was it to be near the Lodge for Russell’s party? And he said something like that.’

‘What did you think he meant?’ Clare asked.

‘I didn’t know. Not straight away. And then he said they had something else to tell me. And I looked at Gaby but she wouldn’t look me in the eye. Suddenly she seemed nervous. Not like herself, at all.’ Luke’s hands were shaking now and he gripped one with the other, as if to steady himself. ‘Gaby and I,’ he said, ‘we’ve been married all these years and I was starting to wonder if I even knew her.’ He swallowed then went on. ‘She started to speak but then she broke off so David took over. He told me they’d talked about Russell over the last few weeks and they couldn’t bear to think of him suffering, as his illness progressed. Like I said, Gaby had done the research and she knew what was ahead. David said he didn’t want his brother’s life to end like that. So they’d decided to give him a wonderful party and then…’ He broke off.

Clare tapped Chris’s ankle gently with her foot. She didn’t want Luke interrupted.