‘Is that the guy Caroline saw her with in the restaurant in Bloomsbury?’ Lowrie gave a little laugh. Perez thought he sounded almost relieved. ‘Well, that wasn’t me. Caroline rushed straight home that night and told me she’d seen Eleanor with a stranger. She made a big drama of it. I said if Eleanor was having an affair I wouldn’t be so surprised, but it was none of our business.’

Perez wondered about the implications of that. Only the day before he’d been in London, but now he found it hard, looking out at the North Sea, to imagine himself back in the little French restaurant in Bloomsbury and to recapture the image described by the waiter of the couple sharing a meal. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising that Caroline had told Lowrie about seeing Eleanor; her loyalty to her fiancé would be greater than her loyalty to her friend. ‘And Eleanor never contacted you about her television project? Not even an email?’ This was what he found most difficult to believe.

Another hesitation. ‘Sorry, not even an email.’ He turned away, so Perez couldn’t see his face. If Lowrie was lying, what possible reason could he have?

They stood up to continue their walk.

‘What’s the talk on the island about Hillier and Gordon?’ Perez asked. ‘Your mother bakes for them and they buy your eggs, so you probably know them as well as anyone.’

‘Are you saying that that makes us suspects, Jimmy?’ Lowrie’s voice was suddenly hard and reminded Perez of Caroline.

‘Of course not. But you’ll have heard what people are saying about them.’

‘A gay couple taking over the big house, do you mean? Things have moved on. We’re not as bigoted as we used to be, even here in Unst.’ Lowrie paused. ‘There was some excitement because some folk recognized Charles Hillier from the television. He was quite famous at one time. One of those cheesy stage magicians. He did clever tricks, despite the dreadful patter. I was fascinated with them as a kid, got a magic set for Christmas. But most of us were just glad the house wasn’t going to be allowed to fall into disrepair. None of the locals could have afforded to take it on.’ He paused again. ‘I only met them a couple of times, but they seemed fine men. I’m sorry that Charles is dead.’

‘Does the name Monica mean anything to you?’ Perez asked.

‘In what context?’

‘I’m not sure. Your father said that a mysterious woman turned up to your great-aunt Sarah’s funeral. A daughter nobody had ever heard about. Could it have been her?’