‘You used to love it there,’ Mitch told him.

‘Where?’

‘Fife.’

‘When was I ever in Fife?’

‘My cousin Chris – we used to visit him.’

‘Where did he live?’

‘Burntisland. The beach, the outdoor pool, the links…’

‘How old was I?’

‘Chris died young. Take a look, he should be in there somewhere.’

Fox realised that his father meant the shoebox. So they lifted out the contents on to the bed. Some of the photos were loose, others in packets along with their negatives. A mixture of colour and black-and-white, including some wedding photos. (Fox ignored the ones of him and Elaine – their marriage hadn’t lasted long.) There were blurry snaps of holidays, Christmases, birthdays, works outings. Until eventually Mitch was handing a particular shot to him.

‘That’s Chris there. He’s got Jude on his shoulders. Big, tall, strapping chap.’

‘Would this be Burntisland then?’ Fox studied the photograph. Jude’s gap-toothed mouth was wide open. Hard to tell if it was laughter or terror at being so high off the ground. Chris was grinning for the camera. Fox tried to remember him, but failed.

‘Might be his back garden,’ Mitch Fox was saying.

‘How did he die?’

‘Motorbike, daft laddie. Look at them all.’ Mitch waved a hand across the strewn photographs. ‘Dead and buried and mostly forgotten.’

‘Some of us are still here, though,’ Fox said. ‘And that’s the way I like it.’

Mitch patted the back of his son’s hand.

‘Did I really love it in Fife?’

‘There was a park up near St Andrews. We went there one day. It had a train we all sat on. There might be a photo if we look hard enough. Lots of beaches, too – and a market in Kirkcaldy once a year

…’

‘Kirkcaldy? That’s where I’ve just been. How come I don’t remember it?’

‘You won a goldfish there once. Poor thing was dead inside a day.’ Mitch fixed his son with a look. ‘You’ll put Jude’s mind at rest?’