Above the rush of wind against the microphone, they listened to Beth explain: ‘She was encouraging everyone to get out, reassuring us that the fire crews were on their way, and then she pushed her way back inside.’

‘I can’t believe I missed it,’ Leanne said.

‘You missed nothing,’ Frankie told her. ‘None of us ever considered the possibility that Claudia, or anyone for that matter, would have the gall to lie the way she has.’

‘We’ve all been taken in by her,’ Mal said. ‘Unless … If we’re not disputing that she did go inside at some point, couldn’t she still be Amelia’s hero?’

‘No!’ Leanne and Frankie said in unison.

‘Look,’ Leanne continued. ‘We have to forget every assumption we’ve ever made about Claudia. She’s a compulsive liar who creates new versions of herself to combat her insecurities. She had a tough upbringing, and it was probably a defence mechanism she learnt early on. When she married Justin, she cut herself off from her old life, smoothed over her accent, and did her best to assimilate, but she would have felt every slight. She wanted to break into Phillipa’s inner circle, and it must have stung when she was given complimentary tickets to an amateur performance, knowing it was probably because no one else wanted them. Of course she didn’t go.’

‘Then where was she before the fire?’ asked Mal.

‘Not at home,’ Leanne said. ‘I’m sure Justin isn’t in on her lies. He wouldn’t have known she was skipping the show, which means she would have gone someplace where she wouldn’t be spotted.’

‘It would need to have been close if she heard the alarm and got to the theatre before the emergency services cordoned off the area,’ Frankie added.

Leanne smiled. Her investigation had gathered momentum, much like the drops of condensation running down the windscreen earlier. ‘Or she was with someone who had a text alert.’

Mal leant forward. ‘Where are you going with this, Leanne?’

‘Claudia became defensive earlier when I tackled her about the rumours of Phillipa and Declan’s affair, and I’m not sure, but I think she slipped up. She talked about Declan having a track record with women.’

Frankie shrugged. ‘I’d say that’s common knowledge.’

With her overdue article and the drive to Chester, Leanne hadn’t had time to figure it all out, but having now established that Claudia was missing when the fire started, the pieces fitted together with surprising ease. ‘But how many people know that when he cheated on his wife, it was with her sister?’

‘Is that true?’ Mal asked Frankie. She had been the one to interview Declan’s ex-wife.

‘If it is, I’m pretty sure his ex doesn’t know about it. So how the hell did Claudia find out?’