It seems an inappropriately cheery choice of venue, heightened by the fact that it is the first really sunny day since Ruth arrived in Lancashire. The beach is filling up and on the pier the big wheel is already going round. Ruth and Guy sit outside the ice-cream parlour with mugs of tea and watch the children playing on the sand below, which, this morning, stretches far beyond the end of the pier. In fact, if Ruth strains her eyes, she can just see Cathbad and Kate building what looks like a sand henge. Kate is in her pink sun-suit with Hello Kitty hat and Cathbad has his trousers rolled up like a proper holiday-maker. For some reason, looking at them makes her want to cry. You wouldn’t think that Kate is estranged from her father or Cathbad from his child. You wouldn’t think that, less than forty-eight hours ago, Cathbad found his friend’s body swinging from a beam. They just look like a father and daughter playing in the sun. Guy asks if Ruth would like something to eat.
