By early afternoon Rosco began to realise that whatever he had promised to George Palmer-Jones, it would be impossible for him to remain where he was. It would be dangerous, suicidal. The shingle and boulders which protected the cottage from the water at high tides were already shifting with the force of the waves. The whole beach was creaking, and he imagined the foundations of the cottage moving, as if there had been a earthquake. Besides, he had lost faith in Palmer-Jones. It had been easy to believe him the night before when they had walked down the lane together. It had been flattering to be treated as important by such a respected gentleman, and he had agreed with some pride to George’s proposal. Now nothing had happened, and Rosco felt let down. He wanted to be in the warm kitchen in Myrtle Cottage, with the windows misted from the heat of cooking and Rose laughing and the baby on his knees reaching out to touch his face.

He set the revolver carefully on the chair where he had been sitting and began to prepare for evacuation. He had said nothing to George about the revolver. He had obtained it almost by chance from a man he had met in prison soon after his release. He had kept it because he knew instinctively that no one who had ever had dealings with Brian Barnes could consider himself quite safe. He never envisaged himself using it but kept it as a talisman, a charm against evil. In the hours of waiting it had been a comfort. Now, because he no longer believed George’s story and thought the only danger he faced would come from the police, he set it aside. He pulled a navy canvas bag from the cupboard under the sink and began to throw things into it. There was not much that he felt worth taking: a favourite jersey which Rose had knitted for him when she was first expecting the baby and which had been airing on a makeshift line in the kitchen, the few important papers he had, an insurance policy, his passport. Then he remembered that there was a photograph of his mother in the drawer in the bedroom, and he went to fetch that.