“Really, it seems fine to me. When Mrs Lancaster left your house on Friday, do you know if she went anywhere?”

“She headed straight home, I think. She needed to get ready for the market.”

“And you didn’t notice if she got in her car? You didn’t see her drive off?”

“No, Milly always parks by the pub. If she was going up to Merryhead, she wouldn’t have passed by my house anyway. Merryhead’s in the opposite direction.”

A knock on the door made the jackdaw rattle its cage.

“Who can that be now?” Alice stood up and went to the door. She returned a moment later with the two PC Whites in tow.

“We saw your car parked outside,” Eric said to Taylor.

“We haven’t found anything,” Thomas White added. “It seems that Milly Lancaster kept herself to herself. She very rarely went out. She even had her groceries delivered.”

“I could’ve told you all that,” Alice said. “I’m Milly’s best, and only, friend.”

“Sorry,” Taylor said, “these are two colleagues of mine. PCs Eric and Thomas White.”

“White and White?” Alice stared at the two constables. “I can see the resemblance.”

“What now?” Eric White asked Taylor, ignoring the observation he’d heard many times before.

“We leave Mrs Green in peace.”

“My dad used to keep bees,” said Thomas.

“Good for him,” said Alice, showing them to the door.

* * *

Taylor stopped her car on the grass at the top of Merryhead and made sure the handbrake was on. Even though she had parked a good distance away from the edge of the cliff, the ground sloped down and the edge felt very near. She got out and gazed at the Atlantic. She could see a line of cargo vessels in the distance and the small silhouette of a sailing boat closer to land. The wind had torn down the police tape, and it now flapped loosely from metal poles. The forensic technicians had gone over every inch of where Milly Lancaster’s car had been parked before it had gone over the cliff.

She wondered what had gone through Milly’s mind as the car had started to roll towards the edge of the cliff. What was it like to realise you have only a few seconds left to live? Inevitably, her thoughts drifted off to the day of her husband’s accident. Her legs started to tremble and she had to sit down on the grass.

She stared out to sea and tried to regulate her breathing. She watched as a lone gull folded its wings and plummeted into the water. It surfaced a few seconds later empty-handed. She went on staring at the sea for quite some time. Eventually, she plucked up the courage to risk standing up again. Concentrate, she told herself, as she got to her feet slowly.

Her vision went blurry for a few seconds but soon steadied. She took a last look over the cliff and got back in her car.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Alice Green finished reading the article about Nosema Apis in the Beekeepers Quarterly. It hadn’t done anything to lift her spirits — whole colonies of bees were being wiped out by the disease and the author of the article believed the future of beekeeping looked bleak. She fed the jackdaw and went outside to the back garden.

Her heart almost stopped as she saw what had happened underneath the hollyhock bushes. It looked as if a wild animal, probably a fox, had dug up a large amount of the soil and now a dirty arm was clearly visible. Alice recognised the shirt the arm was wrapped in. It had been Stanley’s favourite black-and-white checked shirt. He’d worn it for years.

This can’t go on.

She wondered if it was time to tell the police — she had made a promise to Milly, after all — but then again it would only spell trouble. The police would start asking all kinds of questions, especially after what had happened to Milly.

No, Alice thought, there’s only one thing to do. Stanley’s body must remain hidden, one way or another.

She fetched the spade and started to dig next to the body. The bees buzzed around her head as she worked. When she had enough to cover the mess the fox had made, she shovelled the soil onto the exposed arm. It was only a temporary measure, of course. The fox was bound to come back. She would have to find some way to dig up her husband and dispose of his body for good, somewhere far away, but that would take a bit of careful planning, and she had neither the time nor the energy for that at the moment.

Satisfied that the corpse was suitably hidden, Alice set down the spade and wiped the sweat from her brow. She was exhausted.

“Beautiful day for it.” Eddie Sedgwick appeared in the doorway. “I did knock but you obviously didn’t hear. I’ve been meaning to get down to a bit of gardening myself.” He looked at the freshly-dug earth underneath the hollyhock bushes.

“The bees are getting busier by the day.” She had to think quickly. “I decided to plant some more hollyhocks.”

“I wish ours grew like yours.”

“Can I help you with something?” Alice could not face making small talk. She wondered how long Eddie had been standing there.

“We’d like to invite you over for supper.” Eddie smiled. “It was actually my Barbara’s idea. I couldn’t believe it when she suggested it.”

“When?” Alice was shocked.

“This evening. If it’s convenient with you, that is.”

It was the last thing Alice felt like but she agreed all the same.

“Come by around six,” Eddie said, obviously very pleased with himself.

She had two hours before the supper ordeal. She hadn’t mentioned Milly’s death to Eddie, and she didn’t intend to. It was none of his damn business. She was not looking forward to the dinner, but it might take her mind off everything that had happened in the past few days. She sat in her kitchen slumped over a cup of tea, looking at the door, half-expecting Milly to come shuffling in carrying a freshly-baked chocolate cake or a new batch of biscuits. It still did not seem real. Her oldest friend was now lying at the bottom of the sea.

“Stanley,” the jackdaw shrieked. “Stanley Green.”

Alice was shocked. She had taught the bird to say a lot of things, but her husband’s name wasn’t one of them.

“Now, where did you hear that?” She stared at the jackdaw. “You mustn’t say that again. Do you hear me?” The bird pecked at the side of the cage in response.

At six, Alice made her way next door, armed with half a bottle of port. She had decided that if she was going to have to endure an evening with the Sedgwicks, she would need a bit of help. Eddie Sedgwick answered the door with his usual inane grin, which widened when he saw the bottle. “We’ll definitely have a drop of that later.”

He led her into the meticulously neat cottage. Alice could not remember the last time she had been inside but she remembered that Barbara Sedgwick had always been extremely house-proud.

“Take a seat,” Eddie told her. “Barbara’s just finishing off in the kitchen. What’ll it be? Red or white?”

It could be green or pink for all I care.Just give me something to drink so I can make it through this. “You choose.”

Eddie waltzed off and returned with a bottle of Riesling and two wine glasses.

“This ought to go nicely with the haddock.” He poured Alice a glass. “My Barbara doesn’t drink much since her operation, but that doesn’t stop us, does it?” He poured himself a glass and sat down. “Cheers.” He took a small sip and added, in a voice little more than a whisper. “Can you do me a favour? Don’t talk about your bees. It’s a bit of a sore topic at the moment, if you know what I mean.”

“No bees,” Alice agreed.

* * *

After producing the driest piece of haddock Alice had ever tried to swallow, Barbara returned to the kitchen to do the dishes. Alice and Eddie were left alone with the port.