‘And ghosts,’ Perez said.

‘That was work. A project about contemporary hauntings. We teased her. She teased us back.’

‘So after lunch your wife had a snooze,’ Perez said. ‘What about the rest of you?’

‘We went for a walk to get the lie of the land. There’s a footpath that goes south along the cliffs. The weather was lovely and the views were spectacular. There were puffins so close that you could reach out and touch them. Eleanor would have loved that. At one point I wondered if I should go back for her. It seemed a shame that she was missing it.’ Ian frowned.

‘But you didn’t go back?’

‘No. I decided to let her rest. We knew it would be a late night and we’re booked into the house for a week. Plenty of time for her to explore.’ He started walking again and his words came in breathy bursts. ‘When we got up she was awake and sitting on the deck. Later, after the party, she claimed that was when she’d seen a ghost.’

‘Peerie Lizzie?’ Perez kept his voice even. This man wouldn’t like to be mocked. Underneath the steel Perez sensed a fragile ego.

‘Yes, a child. A girl in an old-fashioned white dress with ribbons in her hair. Eleanor said that she watched her for a while, then she was worried that there were no parents around and that the girl was getting very close to the water. But when she approached her, the child vanished. That was the story, at least.’

‘You didn’t believe it?’ Perez wasn’t sure how this could be relevant. He remembered the kids in fancy dress at the ferry – perhaps Eleanor had seen one of those.

‘Eleanor loved practical jokes, taking the piss. I wondered if she was winding us up. But Polly and Marcus took it seriously and started coming up with practical explanations. Polly’s always been a tad earnest – I could never quite see how Eleanor and she were such good friends. Though Nell has always collected admirers – she makes people feel as if they’re special. I just let the whole ghost thing go.’

‘You didn’t consider that it might be a sign that Eleanor’s depression had returned?’ Perez had been depressed after Fran’s death and he’d imagined all sorts.

‘Hearing voices and seeing things, you mean? Nah, I didn’t think that, though she accused me of believing she was mad, when we were discussing it after the party.’

‘And after you returned from the walk you prepared for the dance?’

‘Yes, we got there a bit early to help out.’

‘Of course,’ Perez said. ‘As friends of the bride and the groom, that would be your role. Tradition.’

‘So we were told.’ Ian didn’t sound as if he was much impressed by tradition.

Perez could picture just how it would have been. They’d be there to set out the bar and greet older friends and family as they arrived, to organize the food. Later there’d be huge pots of tea, the milk already added, trays of home-bakes, and the young people would wait on the other guests. ‘How did Eleanor seem during the party?’