It was a far more pleasant drive than it had been on the previous two occasions. The fields were recovering, and the sheep and cattle were back grazing again. I even saw some figures on the golf course. Passing Mary’s old family farmhouse, I remembered the story Phyllis had told me about the separated couple, the funeral and the pretence. As I’d remarked at the time, Mary’s situation was different in that Bob was still with Amanda, but I still felt for her, being excluded from his death as she had been from his life. I wondered if there was any truth to what Amanda had said, that Mary was just one of Bob’s many “tarts”. If Sue was Bob’s daughter, then surely that had been another affair. But maybe Amanda was just lashing out because she was hurting herself? I tried to feel sorry for Bob’s widow, but she was difficult to warm to, despite what she had clearly suffered.

I reached Mamore, so different now on the clear day, and I pulled in at the grotto. I left the car and climbed to the spot where Derek and I had gone the day after Bob had died, to the area which I’d thought must be close to where his body had lain. I stood there with my hands on my hips and breathed in. The air was sweet and fresh, and the view was stunning, the sea blue in the distance, the Hills of Urris purple and green.

As I looked towards the right, I wondered if I could see Mary’s parents’ old house. But, of course, it was too far, it was way the other side of Clonmany and Ballyliffin. It made me think again about the ugly scene at the hospital and Derek’s kindness in the middle of all the pain. His kindness to Mary rather than Amanda.

But those boots, I just couldn’t get them out of my head. The plan was that they would only be in Inishowen the night before the cycle, so he wouldn’t have had time to go for a hike, unless he planned to do it later along the route, which seemed unlikely – it was a demanding cycle. We knew that Bob must have come to Mamore willingly, with someone he knew. Was it Derek who had taken Bob up here? Amanda had said Bob wanted to make up with his twin, to fix things between them. Was that why Bob had come with him? And if Derek was an amputee, then presumably his footwear was important – he needed to be prepared for whatever activity he intended undertaking.