Looking round the museum again, he noticed that one of the cases was open. It was devoted to a collection of sweetheart jewellery, sent home from South Africa by migrant Cornish miners, but some of the contents were missing from the neatly labelled shelves and the detail struck him as odd. His first thought was of Gerald Lancaster, but he doubted very much that petty theft was at the root of either death. Still brooding on what might link the two victims, Penrose pulled the blinds and locked the door, then hurried back up to the castle. 228

He was shown to the study, where Hilaria sat staring out of the window. ‘Emily Soper lived on this island her whole life,’ she said sadly, without any other greeting. ‘She was a nice woman – a decent woman. She shouldn’t have died alone.’

‘I’m afraid there’s more to it than that,’ Penrose said. He could see by the shock on his friend’s face that she had understood his meaning immediately, but he outlined everything carefully to avoid any misunderstandings.

‘Please tell me that the deaths are connected, at least,’ Hilaria said. ‘I don’t think I could bear the idea of harbouring two murderers under this roof.’

‘You mustn’t—’

‘Don’t tell me not to blame myself, Archie. You know me better than that. Have you got any idea what is going on here?’

‘Not yet, but I’m going over to the mainland now with the men that Tom Pendean recommended. I hope to have some answers for you when I get back.’

‘Will you do something for me while you’re there?’

‘Yes, of course.’

She picked up a piece of paper from her desk and handed it to him. ‘This is the address we have for Emily’s son, Jonathan. Can you arrange for someone to go and break the news? He should know what’s happened as soon as possible. I’d hate him to read about it in the newspapers, and we shouldn’t forget that we have a journalist in our midst.’

‘I’ll make sure it’s done.’

‘When will you be back?’ The question was business-like enough, but there was a deep anxiety in Hilaria’s voice and he knew that she was at a loss to know how to keep everyone safe. ‘And what can we do to make sure that nothing else 229happens while you’re gone? Should I warn the islanders?’

‘No, not yet. At the moment, everyone thinks that Mrs Soper’s death is a tragic coincidence, and I’d rather it stayed that way for now. If people start to panic, it might trigger an extreme reaction from the killer, and that’s the last thing we’re in a position to deal with. I’d much rather wait until we can get reinforcements onto the island.’ She nodded reluctantly, and Penrose prayed that he wasn’t being reckless by keeping people in the dark about the extent of the violence. ‘I won’t be gone long,’ he promised. ‘I’ll make sure to be back before the tide turns again, and by then we’ll have people doing all they can up country to get to the bottom of this.’