Elle ended up being escorted from the building like some kind of threat, Doug Grant behind her saying: ‘You’re just overwrought. Completely understandable, being recently bereaved,’ while Elle’s former schoolfriend, teacher and acquaintances, mouths agape, looked on.

Outside in the hard light of day, she didn’t know what to do. She barely remembered where she had left the car. She stumbled down the bright limestone steps, which were now sickening to her. She didn’t want to remember a time when she had admired them, or anything about this bank.

She moved unseeingly through the smattering of tourists on Main Street, thinking of other, more intelligent things she should have said, and rebuttals she might have offered. Suddenly, she turned on her heel. She would tell Mr Doug Grant a few more things, actually. Why not, when everything was ruined anyway?

Elle turned, and with a blunt thump, crashed right into the hard solid chest of a man.

Rob had enjoyed a peaceful morning. He’d delivered fresh fruit to the Bay Hotel, taken his dogs for a walk along the beach, and then come into Pebbles Café for a cup of coffee and a pleasant chat with a few of the locals. He was just about to head onto site, when he looked out the window of the café and saw Elle walking along Main Street, looking like she was about to go into a boxing ring. He paid for his coffee and walked out onto the street, hoping he hadn’t missed her, when she came crashing into his chest, nose first.

‘Elle. Are you all right?’

As she pulled back from him, he could see that no, she wasn’t all right. Blood had already begun to flow from her nose, startlingly vivid against her pale skin.

‘Oh shit, sorry. We’d better get that looked at. It might be broken.’

For once she had nothing to say, so Rob brought her to his truck, where he kept a first aid kid. After performing some rudimentary first aid on her nose, the biggest challenge was getting her to breathe normally: she was taking huge gulping breaths, like a fish landed in the dry. It was the shock, he supposed, feeling guilty.

‘Let’s get you home,’ he said. ‘Give me your keys and I’ll get one of my lads to come and drop back your car.’

Elle looked at him with her wide green eyes, and spoke for the first time since the incident. ‘No. Don’t take me home, please. I can’t face them just yet.’

Chapter 9

Having finished breakfast duties, Penny decided, upon Rob’s advice, to tackle emptying out her mother’s old office in preparation for the roof repairs. Though she wasn’t relishing the thought of sorting through all the paperwork and hotel-related flotsam, she figured she might as well do something worthwhile to pass the time while waiting for Elle to report back from the bank.