“I’d phone him often and ask how things were progressing, but I’d get put off and put off until all he could say was that there was no more progress. In the end, I’m sorry to say, I gave up. Moved on. I was just exhausted with it all, and it seemed to be blighting my life.”

Banks was of two minds whether to tell her that the police had been told to lay off Caxton from above, but he decided not to. “We don’t solve all our cases,” he said. “Sadly. Sometimes they slip through the cracks.”

“I know that,” Ursula said. “You’re only human. But I was a bit cross at the time. Shall we move on?” She got unsteadily to her feet and called the dogs, who had wandered off to explore a hillock several yards away. They came running.

“I’m sorry to be bringing all these bad memories back to you,” Banks said as they started walking toward the cottage. The sea sparkled around Lindisfarne and the old ruined stone seemed to shimmer in the light. “Especially as there’s nothing to be done about it after so long.”

“It wouldn’t have brought Tony back. Even if they had found out who did it.”

“It’s just the case I’m pursuing. I can’t really talk about it, but you’ll find out when it comes to trial. The thing is, we do at least have a chance of putting Caxton away, admittedly after a lifetime of getting away with sexual abuse. I’m also hoping with what I’ve found out about Tony’s murder, from you and other sources, I can make a convincing case for murder, or conspiracy at least. I have no concrete evidence, but I think if I can construct a plausible-enough scenario a jury might believe it, given everything else.”

She hung her head. “I’m really sorry if my actions resulted in more girls getting abused.”

“You’re not responsible for any of that,” said Banks. Her husband had raped Linda Palmer, he knew, but he had confessed—made up a more palatable story, perhaps—and she had gone to the police with it. “I don’t think anything you could have done at the time would have stopped it. Stopped Caxton.”

“Can you tell me if it was girls, or boys?” Ursula asked out of the blue.

“Girls. What difference does it make?”

“The way Tony was found. You know, the place he was found in. It was obvious that everyone thought it was a gay murder. I just wondered if, you know, Caxton had been fond of young boys, that sort of thing. I mean, Tony had been involved in what happened at that party with a girl, but I just wonder if he was supposed to help find rough trade for Caxton, along with all his other duties.”