‘Tom. Summoned to get me out of the house, were you? Fine, then. I give in. Come on, we’ll go for a walk down the seafront.’

The inspector kissed June on the cheek.

‘I’ll see you soon,’ he said. ‘We miss you.’

She nodded. ‘Absolutely. Maybe we’ll have a dinner party? Oh, that would be lovely. Tell Louise not to worry about bringing anything. Just yourselves.’

Tom cast a final glance back into the sitting room as he and Sean were leaving and saw that June had already resumed staring out the window. It was like he hadn’t even been there.

‘I’m surprised you’ve the time to be calling out to babysit me,’ Sean said, as he strode purposefully down the quiet street. Never had a man moved so swiftly away from a situation he allegedly didn’t want to leave. ‘Not that I’m not grateful to get out. Our bloody family is using all this as the perfect opportunity to step in and take over our lives. June’s ill, not me. You know what I’ve realised in the last few months, Tom? I’m a misanthrope. I hate being around other people. Even my own kids.’

The inspector’s silence alerted something in his companion. Sean stopped abruptly and turned to study his friend’s face.

‘Nobody rang you, did they?

Tom shook his head.

‘You were coming to see me anyway … about the case?’

The inspector sighed.

Sean arched an eyebrow.

‘Ah. That’s the sound of a man dealing with unnecessary drama. You want to talk about my replacement.’

‘Eh … yeah.’

‘To hell with the seafront, then. It’ll be full of noisy families enjoying themselves. Let’s go somewhere we can be miserable in peace.’

They strolled on for another few streets, landing at Sean’s favourite watering hole. They took stools at the bar, increasing to five the grand total of customers scattered throughout the establishment.

‘Grape or grain?’ Sean asked.

‘I suppose I can have a wine. Willie is coming back for me.’

‘Good. I hate drinking alone. Derek, two glasses of the good Malbec you’ve got stashed under the counter.’

The old man behind the bar looked up from the betting slips he’d been checking and sighed, moving laboriously to fetch two wine glasses and the bottle.

‘Jesus, careful you don’t strain yourself there, now,’ Sean tutted impatiently, nosing over the counter at the racing dockets.

‘Haven’t missed you much,’ Derek grumbled. He placed the glasses in front of the two men, then scrunched up his betting dockets so Sean couldn’t see how much he’d lost. ‘Here, the wife made this up for your better half.’ He reached under the counter again and produced a small hamper of sweets, wrapped in cellophane with a long yellow ribbon curled around its neck.