‘You’re the only reason I need to come home – and it’s not for ever. I promised you that.’ She looked at the two gifts and smiled. ‘They don’t seem very compatible, do they?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. I think they sum us up quite nicely.’ 278

The sound of the dinner gong drifted up from the hallway, and Marta looked at her watch. ‘I thought supper was going to be later?’

‘It’s supposed to be at six.’ The noise persisted, clearly a summons to go downstairs, and Josephine sighed. ‘God knows what’s happened now. We’d better go and see.’

279

13

The tide was in Penrose’s favour when he was finally ready to go back to the Mount – by boat this time, and with the welcome support of the local police. It had taken him a while to explain to Johnny Soper why the man detained in custody was not being charged with his mother’s murder, and Penrose was all too conscious that he had no alternative scenarios to offer. He was exhausted, the physical effort of crossing the causeway matched only by the mental strain of his interview with Jack Naylor, and he didn’t relish the task ahead: Naylor’s confession had stirred up too many memories, and Emily Soper’s death – at the heart of this proud, tight-knit community – had all the hallmarks of another domestic tragedy, of other lives destroyed in the saddest of circumstances.

It was early evening as the boat sailed into the little harbour, and the lights from the front row of cottages were deceptively welcoming; as they docked at the east pier, he could almost believe that the sun had set on a normal day. Only the museum was in darkness, with one of the islanders standing guard outside, and he watched Johnny’s face as he and Violet climbed the steps. ‘She shouldn’t be in there on her own,’ Violet said, anticipating his next dilemma. ‘Can we go to her? Pay our respects?’

‘Not tonight, I’m afraid,’ Penrose said. ‘The pathologist is coming first thing in the morning, and I can’t allow anyone else into the building until he’s been, not even you. I know 280how wrong that sounds, but I do promise you that there’s a reason for it. It will give us the best possible chance of finding out who did this.’

They accepted his explanation, but walked over to the building anyway and stood quietly outside. Penrose left them to their thoughts until they were ready to come up to the castle with him, and sent some of his Penzance colleagues on ahead to deal with Gerald Lancaster, glad to hand that particular inquiry over. He was just beginning to consider what to do first about the village murder when he saw Josephine and Marta coming towards him along the harbour. ‘We’ve been looking out for you,’ Josephine said. ‘You’ve been gone so long. We were worried sick.’

More pleased to see them than he could possibly have said, Penrose brought them quickly up to date. ‘I’ve got to tell Hilaria what’s going on, so as soon as Mr Soper and his fiancée are ready, I’ll take them up to the castle. She’ll want to talk to them.’