He didn’t answer immediately, so she looked at him.

‘Cop secret,’ he said, and playfully poked his finger into her thigh while he changed gears, just like he’d done when they’d started dating.

Beck thought about asking after the mystery girlfriend who hadn’t shown up at the wedding. At every motel sign came a chance to bring it up in conversation, but she didn’t.

After a few more blocks, Daniel cleared his throat.

‘When we find him, best not to run up to him straight away, Love,’ he said, and looked at her like he was making a confession. ‘We don’t want to spook him.’

Beck didn’t want to say it out loud. She’d given up on pointing out anything to Daniel years ago, but what had clearly spooked their second son was the idea of being shunted off to boarding school against his will.

James had stationed himself on a deckchair underneath the landing between two staircases. It had been a sun trap all afternoon, concealed from the foyer by a tall bank of flowers. Here, he’d dried his undies and watched people passing, oblivious to his presence.

He’d also consumed a few half-eaten sandwiches before the waiters could collect the plates, and most of a crumbed fish and chips abandoned when a child had a tantrum and was dragged away by his mother.

As the afternoon wore on, the leftover drinks he helped himself to went from fizzy water and lemonade to the dregs of alcohol, while the sounds went from poolside games to the music that drifted in from the restaurant.

Consequently, when Tony and Leanne descended hand-in-hand down the very stairs under which James lay, he had the same sense of being not quite there that he’d felt at their wedding two days ago.

Tony was wearing a cream safari suit with a red shirt that looked new, showing up his bronzed neck and face. Leanne was in a flowing green dress, her skin the lightest shade of pink. They crossed the marble-covered landing and floated down to pool level, bodies obscured by the bright flowers that matched the colour of Tony’s shirt.

Through the windows of the pool terrace, James noticed Tony’s hand go to his wife’s back and guide her as they reached the threshold of the restaurant, where couples were laughing to upbeat live music.

A waiter in a white jacket seated them at a table with a view of the pool. Leanne smiled as her chair was tucked in behind her. Tony held the menu up and decided for them, before he pressed her hands in his. Leanne seemed aglow. It reminded James of how he’d felt after a night in Tony’s arms, only she’d had more than one night by now.