Matthew drew his attention back to Theo as if surprised to see him. “Ah, I see. The joys of linguistic difference. Beatrice never mentioned you were Scottish. Thank you for buying my breakfast, I thoroughly enjoyed it. What’s the betting PI Stubbs had a greasy omelette on the road whilst we enjoyed a protein-packed platter of perfection? I should leave you get on with your duties and make my way to the museum. Permission to wear trousers, can you imagine?” He placed his napkin on his plate, scraped back his chair and tipped his hat. “Jolly good company, hope to do it again. See you later and all best wishes for your sleuthing.”

  “See you later. Have fun.” Theo watched his progress through the maze of tables and asked himself why he had an urge to run after his boss’s partner.

  Chapter 17

  It was a good job Will got them up and out of the house early. On arrival at the car park at ten to nine on Saturday morning, parking spaces were already sparse. All along the beach, families were already setting up their pitch for the day, so Will selected a spot near to some rocks, rationalising that other people would be less likely to crowd them. He and Luke dumped their bags, stripped off to their swimming costumes and raced each other to the sea. Adrian watched as they splashed their way into the water, laughing and shrieking with delight. He spread three towels on the sand and arranged cold box, sun cream, books, frisbee, badminton rackets and shuttlecock as sort of territorial markers around their camp.

  The sun was strong, even at that hour, and Adrian made a note to ensure Luke was wearing waterproof factor 50+ at all times. He stabbed the base of the beach umbrella deeply into the sand until he judged it secure, then opened it to create a pool of shade. He slipped off his shorts and shirt, folded them neatly into a pile and put on his sunglasses to stretch out on the beach. Beatrice may well be in Mallorca under Spanish skies, but Adrian wished himself nowhere else in the world but on this particular towel on this particular day with these particular people in Exmouth’s Sandy Bay.

  Voices approached and Adrian sat up, prepared for the fact that Will and Luke would both find it hilarious to shake their wet hair and spatter him with cold droplets. Will was striding in his direction, Luke trotting at his side holding something in his hand.

  “What have you found?” asked Adrian. “Don’t you be bringing any dead crabs over here!”

  “It’s not a crab! It’s an ammonite. A fossil. Look!” Luke held out a hand to show a rock with some grey markings which looked rather like bits of a caterpillar.

  “Wow, that is really cool. Did you find it in the sea?”

  Luke shook his head, scattering droplets on Adrian but more through clumsiness than intent. “It was on the beach. We were skimming stones and I found this one and I was just about to chuck it into the sea when Will asked to have a look. I thought he was trying to nick my good skimmer but he saw these patterns. I saw stuff like this in the museum, you know.”

  “May I?” Adrian took the rock between his thumb and forefinger, examining it in the light. He wasn’t convinced it was a fossil but it had pretty markings and Luke was thrilled with it. “It’s a beauty. Why don’t you put it somewhere safe to show your mum when she gets home?” He handed it over and smiled up at Will who was towelling his hair dry. “Thank goodness for your sharp eyes, DS Quinn. Luke, dry yourself off and then I want you to apply sun cream and wear your hat. There’s no way your mother is coming home to a child who looks like a peeled prawn. Do you want a drink of water?”

  Luke did as he was told, swallowed a good half bottle of mineral water and plonked himself on the middle towel. The three of them lay side by side, soaking up the warmth, the light and the promise of a full day with nothing to do but enjoy themselves. They stayed that way for all of twenty minutes. Adrian read three chapters of his Maria Callas biography lying on his back, while Will and Luke turned over, fidgeted, sat up and looked around the beach for something to do. The pair of them had a game of badminton, clambered over the rocks to look for pools, wandered up to the lifeguard hut and came back with three ice creams. When they’d finished the choc ices, Will began his campaign to get Adrian in the sea.

  A quarter of an hour of botherment was more than enough. He was hot, sweaty and ready to do anything to shut those two up. Adrian put his book in his bag, slipped his feet into flip-flops and followed his two excitable companions into the water. It was bracingly cold to begin with, but when he got started, swimming against the constant swell was exhilarating and somehow primal. He struck out towards the horizon and floated for a while gazing at infinite blue sky. His ears sank beneath the water and he relished the peace before powering back to the shallows.

  For a seven-year-old, Luke swam with great confidence, body surfing, doing an admirable crawl and, under Will’s guidance, attempting the butterfly stroke. More and more people crowded into the sea and Adrian waded up to the shore, dodging squealing children. Luke and Will were attempting underwater handstands, so Adrian returned to base. He dried himself and noticed how full the beach had become, with barely an area of sand unoccupied by a couple, group or family.

  He lay on his front, reading about the opera singer’s return to Greece when a splatter of wet drops hit his back. He jumped and shouted, as was expected, and made as if to chase Luke into the sea. He gave up sooner than he normally would as he could see it was only a matter of time before Luke stumbled right through the middle of somebody else’s picnic. Talking of which, he was rather peckish himself.

  “I’ll get you later!” he yelled. “Now let’s eat. It’s picnic time!”

  Luke skidded to a halt, sending sand all over some poor lady’s recently oiled thigh, and ran with equal enthusiasm in the opposite direction. “Great! I’m starving! What have we got?”

  Adrian was unable to answer the question as Will had got up and prepared the picnic while Adrian and Luke dozed in their beds. The one thing he could be sure of was that it would be absolutely delicious. He wasn’t wrong.

  Three cheeses, grapes and apples and cherry tomatoes, a French stick, smoked salmon scotch eggs, a quiche, a flask of gazpacho and home-made lemonade all laid out on one of Beatrice’s checked tablecloths looked good enough for a photo shoot. Adrian snapped the display from several angles and realises something was missing. He opened his mouth to ask Will the obvious question and saw his husband withdrawing a half bottle of wine from a chilling sleeve in the cold box. He’d even brought two chunky green glass tumblers.

  “The man who thinks of everything,” said Adrian. “Right, let’s tuck in. Luke, what have you done with your hat? Yes, I know you think I’m nagging, but I don’t care. Put your hat on and a towel over your shoulders otherwise all you’re getting for lunch is whatever you can drag out of one of those manky rock pools.”

  They ate in the shade of the umbrella, brushing away flies and grazing on far longer than was necessary. Luke decided that smoked salmon scotch eggs were far superior to the sausage meat kind and enthused about Gabriel’s cooking.

  “Mum’s usually in a rush, so we often have beans on toast or something out of the freezer. But Gabriel makes fresh things like salads and soups and stir fries. He does stuff like you, Will, you know, old favourites but different. Like Marmite in the sausage roll. Can I have some quiche?”

  “Help yourself, mate. We’ll need to have a rest after lunch because we don’t want to get cramp in the sea. I suggest a walk up to the headland if you fancy coming?” said Will.

  “Yeah! Oh, I wish we could have brought Huggy Bear. She loves running about up there because there are rabbits. Granddad has to keep her on the lead because he’s worried she might run right off the cliff.”

  Adrian topped up his wine glass and offered the bottle to Will, who shook his head. “Huggy Bear will be having the time of her life with all the other dogs at Mrs Shaw’s house. It wouldn’t be fair to bring her to the beach on a Saturday, when it’s this hot and with so many people around. Plus the fact, when we pick her up, Will and I are going to look at her rescue dogs to see if we can adopt one.”

  “You’re going to get a dog? Brilliant! One like Huggy Bear or a big one like Poldark?”

  Will grinned at Adrian. “We don’t know yet. We just going to have a look, but you can come with us and give us your opinion.”

  “Yes!” Luke pulled down his fist in a gesture of triumph. “I’m good with dogs.”

  The intrepid explorers got dressed and set off towards the path leading up to the headland. Adrian cleared up the mess left after lunch and placed all the leftovers in the cold box. By the time he had shaken out the tablecloth, tidied the towels and settled back down with Maria Callas, Will and Luke were merely specks at the top of the beach. If it hadn’t been for Luke’s red baseball cap, Adrian couldn’t have identified them. He read another chapter, or tried to. His attention wandered constantly. Eventually, he replaced his bookmark and focused on what was bothering him.

  Will was happy. A blind man galloping by a horse could see that. He adored playing Dad and Luke would follow him anywhere, even off a cliff. Adrian sighed. Will wanted to be a father and what was more, he would excel at the part. He was patient, enthusiastic, energetic and an extraordinary role model for any child. If he was a kid again, he’d want a dad exactly like Will. A thought he pushed away quickly due to worrying implications. His own father was a remote, vague man who had always done his best to create as much distance between himself and Adrian as possible. Having a son or daughter would fulfil Will completely, making him whole. The problem was that he was married to Adrian, to whom children were a deal breaker.

  He stood up, hoping movement would break the mental impasse of this impossible situation, and wandered down towards the surf, watching the waves bubble over his toes as he buried them into the sand. The conundrum was insoluble. When Will first proposed on holiday in Portugal, Adrian had accepted without hesitation. He and Will were perfect together, he knew that. They were two halves of the scales, improving the best bits and toning down the negative sides of both personalities. They’d had the conversation more than once about their hopes and dreams for the future and Adrian drew his red line. No kids. Under no circumstances did he want children.

  They agreed. The five-year plan was for Will to become a detective inspector, for Adrian to build his business, and then, if possible, to relocate somewhere in the countryside. Will could take a senior position in a less stressful force than the London Met, Adrian could establish a wine shop anywhere in the world and they could spend more time doing the things they loved. Like going to lovely restaurants, exploring the countryside, joining choirs or kickboxing classes, each doing their own thing. They were good at spending time alone and together because some of Adrian’s hobbies did not entice Will and vice versa.

  He paced up and down the shoreline, barely noticing the sea creeping over his feet only to retreat once again. A dog would be Adrian’s dream. A point of focus for them as a couple while the responsibility lay with Adrian. But a child? That was a whole different question. He stopped and looked up at the path above the cliffs but couldn’t see the red baseball cap. His foot kicked out at the sea as if resenting its constant caress and he turned back to their little oasis on the beach. Maria Callas lay neglected on his towel as he hugged his knees to his chest and thought about how to reconcile two opposing desires.

  He had a godson. What if they offered to babysit Alejandro once a month? Will had a niece and nephew. They could visit them on occasion to satisfy Will’s need to be around little people. They could even donate to a refugee program or something like virtual adoption rather than bring a small human being home to disrupt their lives. In terms of a partnership, Will and Adrian were operating like a well-oiled machine. A child would be a spanner … His phone rang. It was Will.

  “Hello, Dr Livingstone. How far into the jungle did you get?”

  “Stand up! Give Maria Callas a break and look up. We are waving at you!”

  Adrian emerged from the shade of the umbrella, his hand shielding his brow as he stared up to the top of the cliff face. Two tiny dots were waving at him and he waved back as if for all the world he knew semaphore. He got his camera from his bag and took a shot of the two of them, zooming in just to record that moment. “I took a picture. Are you coming back down now or going farther?”

  In the background, Adrian could hear Will and Luke conversing. “Going as far as the point. We’ll be back in an hour or so. Luke reckons he’ll probably be hungry again.”

  Adrian laughed, ended the call and plunged his chin into his hands.

  Chapter 18

  Church was cancelled, to Theo’s surprise. There was a handwritten note stuck to the door with a piece of Sellotape over each corner, explaining that due to family circumstances Greg Palliser was unable to guide his followers this evening.

  Theo walked on down the street, his middle finger massaging the point between his brows. Why now? The yoga studio had operated as normal since the discovery of Romy’s death on Tuesday. The classes, the church meetings and meditations still took place all week but now the place was closed. Theo stood outside a shop selling Mallorcan art and gazed into the window, seeing nothing at all.

  The funeral. Romy was due to be cremated and her ashes scattered on Monday. Perhaps Greg and Miranda had taken the weekend off to prepare for such an emotional event. Theo asked himself if that was plausible and the answer came back negative. He wandered up the street with the intention of talking to a few of Nirvana’s neighbours. He started at the café but had only just ordered a coffee when he saw a young curly-haired woman carrying a yoga mat approaching the door of Nirvana. He could have stood up and said something but she was perfectly capable of reading the notice Sellotaped to the door as it was in English and Spanish. To his surprise, she read the notice, shook her head, opened the door and continued up the stairs. Theo drank his coffee and watched the building. Nothing happened. He asked the waiter about the business operating on the other side of the street but the guy simply shrugged.

  “Hippie shit. Stuff for bored tourists.”

  “Do you know the owner, Miranda Flynn?”

  “By sight. They come in here most evenings after dinner.”

  “I don’t suppose you’d remember if they were here on Monday night?”

  The waiter scratched his chin. “Monday night? Yes, they were. They were pissed off because all the tables were taken with people watching the match. I said they could sit at the bar but it was pretty noisy so they left again. That must have been around ten o’clock.”

  Theo thanked him, paid his bill and crossed the street. He stood looking at the vegetables on the greengrocer’s stall until an altercation between a moped driver and a pedestrian drew everyone’s attention. That was his moment to slip inside the door and ascend the stairs to Nirvana. On the landing, he took off his shoes and padded in socked feet to the studio itself. There was no music, no voices, only silence. He waited inside the hallway for a full five minutes, listening and absorbing the atmosphere of the place. Finally he eased open the door to see the young woman dancing with abandon. Whatever beat she moved to must have been inside her head. She was dancing like no one was watching, except someone was. Theo closed the door and knocked, giving her a moment to compose herself.

  A moment later, the door slid open and a young, fresh-faced woman looked into his eyes. “Can I help you? Classes and church are cancelled this weekend, I’m afraid.”

  Theo’s whole body froze into stillness. This woman was ordinary but exceptional. Her curly white-blonde hair was escaping its knot, her green eyes, freckled face and a light sheen of sweat from her recent exertions made her appear like a naiad emerging from the water.

  “Oh, right, sorry. I wanted to talk to Miranda and Greg, but maybe I should go upstairs and check the apartment.”

  “They’re not at the apartment. Greg’s gone home to his family and Miranda went with him. Are you a friend of theirs? Because if you’re a student or one of the church followers, you will have to wait a week.” She took a pace backwards and stared at him. “Have you been here before? I don’t recognise you.”

  “No, I’ve not seen you before either. My name is Theo Wolfe and I’m a private investigator. I came here yesterday to attend a church service and talk to Greg about the death of his sister. What’s your name?”

  She tilted her head to one side and pushed the door open wide. “Come in, Theo Wolfe. I’ll make some tea. My name is Fae.”

  They sat cross-legged on yoga mats and drank camomile tea out of chunky IKEA cups.

  “Like I said, Greg and Miranda are with the Pallisers. Romy’s funeral is on Monday and I think they wanted some family time together. It was pretty last minute – I got an email yesterday evening telling me all classes were cancelled.”

  “How come you turned up anyway?”

  “In case any students didn’t get the information. I hate to think of someone standing outside all on their own. Then I saw the note on the door and thought I could use the room to practise my dance routine. It’s rare for me to get time and space to work alone.”

  “Then I interrupted.” Theo gave her an apologetic grin.

  “That’s OK. I didn’t bring my music so couldn’t have a full rehearsal. I was just going through the steps. You’re investigating Romy’s death?”

  Theo found it hard to meet Fae’s eyes. She seemed strangely familiar even though they’d never met. He cleared his throat and stared into his tea. “Yeah, my boss and I are working the case. Did you know Romy?”

  She waggled her head from side to side. “I knew of her, but only met her once. She was part of the Sa Fonda crowd, glamorous party people where everyone knows everyone else. She was beautiful and rich with those Jessica Rabbit locks and always had gorgeous men at her side.”

  A twinge of jealousy stung Theo at the thought of Fae describing Juan Carlos as gorgeous. He was a great-looking guy. Even Beatrice had come over all fluttery, but someone like Fae should be above all that. As she recollected her impressions, she looked out of the window, giving Theo the opportunity to gaze at her. Her neck reminded him of a china vase, so delicate were its lines. Afternoon light shone through her platinum curls to create a halo, glinting as if fireflies dwelt within. He sat upright, mirroring her graceful posture.