Derek rubbed his hand against his nose. “So, they weren’t out to rob him anyway.”

I wanted to tell him to pick it up with a tissue, not to get his prints on it, but I was too late and with the rain it was probably pointless. Molloy and McFadden must have missed it, I thought. Easy enough considering how waterlogged the ground was. They’d have to drain the whole area to search it properly.

With a jolt it occurred to me that the snake could still be lurking here. If snakes lurked. Mountain Rescue had been on the alert while they were searching, but people had been warned to stay out of this area just in case. The prospect made me a little nervous; I wasn’t great with snakes. I said as much to Derek in a stumble of words and he nodded.

“We’ll go.” He took out a handkerchief, wrapped the watch in it and shoved them both into the pocket of his jacket. “I’ll give this to the guards.”

As we drove back down the hill in the Lexus, the rain became heavier. But passing the sign for the waterfall, Derek looked at me. “Would you mind?”

I shook my head. It was still bucketing down but if this was one of the last places his brother had been happy, then who was I to deprive him of seeing it? “Of course not. Although I expect we may not be able to get too far up the path.”

I was right. There was a sign in the car park indicating that the footpath was closed due to flood damage and it wasn’t difficult to see, even from where we were, that the river was overflowing and dangerous. The path was completely blocked off.

Derek seemed disappointed. “Amanda said it was really pretty,” he said. “That it had been romantic.”

I did wonder, if Bob and Amanda had enjoyed such a romantic stroll on Thursday morning, then what had caused them to have that row on Thursday night? I was tempted to ask Derek about it, but the look on his face as he gazed at the gushing river beyond the sign stopped me.

He sighed, hands in the pockets of his jacket. “I’m glad they had that, at least.”

There was something about the way he said it that made me suspect he wasn’t just thinking about Bob and Amanda.

I hesitated before speaking. “It must be hard not to be able to talk to your wife at times like this. I mean, I know you can talk to her, but …” I stumbled, feeling sure I was saying the wrong thing, or saying it badly.

But his face when he turned to me was soft. “No, you’re right. I do miss that.” He looked down. “To tell the truth I’ve been feeling guilty.”

“Why?”