I remembered what he had said about his wife being in a place where she was happy. I’d assumed it was one of Bob’s homes but clearly it wasn’t.

“And the money?” Molloy asked.

Derek bowed his head. “This will come as a huge disappointment to Amanda, but I have absolutely no idea what happened to it. I thought Bob would tell me if I left him to stew overnight, but the old bastard died instead.” He looked up. “I’m afraid I led Amanda to believe that I knew. It helped to keep her quiet.”

Molloy and I watched McFadden drive Derek Jameson away in the squad car, his bike strapped to the roof.

Molloy shook his head. “He’s protecting someone. Someone untied Bob and it wasn’t Bob himself.”

“Why are you so sure?” I asked.

“Derek Jameson is an engineer. He’s perfectly capable of tying a knot that couldn’t be untied by a drunk man in the pitch dark. Plus, someone let that snake out of the sack. And we never found a sack; the snake was transported to Donegal in a box and we found the box.”

I digested this. “I suppose there’s nothing left for him now so he’s free to take the blame for Bob’s death.” I paused. “There’s something I should tell you.”

“Go on.”

“I came up here with him, that time he found Bob’s watch. He asked me to show him the way. It seemed a little odd at the time, why he would want to come here.”

“Do you think he was looking for the rope?” Molloy asked. “Trying to work out how Bob got free?”

“I don’t know.” Had I been wrong about Derek Jameson’s motivation for killing Bob? He hadn’t mentioned Mary. So had it really been just an accident? A prank gone wrong?

Molloy’s voice cut into my thoughts. “I need to go and speak to Jude Burns before he leaves.”

“You’re going to the B & B?”

He nodded.

“I’ll come with you.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

I DROVE BACK to Glendara, over the newly accessible bridge, through the town and up to Mary’s B & B with Molloy just ahead. Jude’s motorbike was still parked at the entrance to the shed, but Bob’s big black Lexus was gone. Had Amanda left already? I wondered. There were a couple of other cars there: I saw Molloy look oddly at them as we passed.

The front door was ajar, so Molloy and I went in without knocking. We stood in the hall for a second. There were noises coming from upstairs, people calling out to each other from one room to another, packing up by the sound of things. Seconds later, Jude himself came down the stairs carrying two bags.

Molloy looked up. “Good. You’re still here.”