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‘But is it enough to make him so grumpy? He doesn’t like anything, does he? Have you seen the way he turns up his nose when he’s offered something? He doesn’t like fish because of the bones, he doesn’t like shakshuka because of the texture, and sometimes he just takes one look at a menu and says there’s nothing there he could eat.’
    â€˜And yet they’ve been here before.’ Peter shook his head. ‘Makes you wonder. Why don’t they just go and stay in Bournemouth?’
    â€˜Poor old Bournemouth,’ said Guy.
    â€˜What exactly is shakshuka?’ asked Ben.
    â€˜Aubergine, pepper, tomato, and potato, basically,’ said Harry. ‘Didn’t you try it the other evening when Jimmy put out all the mezze?’
    â€˜No.’ Ben looked sheepish. ‘I’m as bad as him. I didn’t fancy the look of it.’
    â€˜It’s gorgeous,’ said Libby, dreamily.
    â€˜I’m going to put it on the menu at home,’ said Harry. ‘They’ve said they’ll teach me back at the hotel.’
    Martha appeared beside the table with a tray. ‘All finished?’
    â€˜Yes, thank you,’ said Libby. ‘Do you do shakshuka, too? Harry’s going to learn it from the hotel.’
    â€˜Yes, we do it. You’ll find several different versions of it out here, and of course, in other Middle Eastern countries it’s served with poached eggs in the middle.’
    â€˜Really?’ Harry looked interested. ‘I’ll have to look into that.’
    â€˜That and Alec’s murder?’ Martha looked amused. ‘You will be busy!’
    After they’d declined any more to eat and drink, and Martha had refused to take any payment, she promised to let them know at the hotel if she heard back from Sally Weston.
    â€˜I’m sure if Alec had told anyone about his long-lost family, he’d have told her,’ she told them. ‘They’d known each other ever since she first came out here, and were very close. Weren’t they?’ She turned to Justin, who’d been remarkably quiet during the meal.
    â€˜Yes.’ He looked uncomfortable.
    â€˜What?’ asked Libby. ‘Don’t you like her?’
    Colour crept into Justin’s cheeks. ‘Yes, of course. I just thought … well, I thought they were a little too close.’
    Martha’s eyes widened. ‘Don’t be stupid, Justin! Alec was gay!’
    Ben sensed Libby’s immediate interest and trod on her foot.
    Justin shrugged.
    â€˜Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened,’ commented Harry. Peter and Libby looked at him sharply, and Libby realised that Peter must know about Harry’s foray into heterosexual sex, as she did.
    â€˜We must go,’ said Fran, forever the calming influence. ‘Thank you so much for lunch, Martha. And for the information. If we can find out about Alec’s mother in England, perhaps we could go and see her when we go home.’
    â€˜I suppose it was England?’ said Libby suddenly. ‘She could have been from anywhere!’
    â€˜No.’ Justin shook his head. ‘I told you, remember? He flew to England to meet her.’
    â€˜But that could have been a sort of halfway house.’ Libby was just warming up.
    â€˜Don’t theorise ahead of the facts,’ said Ben. ‘Goodbye, Martha.’ He held out his hand.
    They crossed the bridge, leaving Justin behind with Martha. Pink Hair and Bushy Moustache had long gone, and it was only when they reached the other side they realised they hadn’t ordered a taxi to take them back to the hotel.
    â€˜We’ll just have to walk,’ said Peter. ‘Come on.’
    â€˜And that little shop down there sells hats, I bet,’ said Guy. ‘We’ll all need one.’
    Libby groaned.
    The little shop did, indeed, sell a variety of hats, and supplied with mock panamas, baseball caps, and