‘Bryony Sutherland might be a good starting point, if you can pin her down. She runs a family business so she hasn’t been as involved with the memorial fund as I’d like. It’s been the same with a lot of Phillipa’s friends actually.’ Before Leanne could ask her next question, Claudia answered it for her. ‘If Bryony knows what Phillipa’s plans are, she hasn’t shared that information with me.’

‘So who has been helping you? Anyone from Ronson Construction?’

Claudia uncrossed her legs and sat up straight. ‘No, because we’re not building anything, and when it comes to having the stage and marquees erected, I won’t be using a company under investigation for negligence.’

‘Do you believe they were negligent?’ Leanne asked. When Claudia simply shrugged, she added, ‘Do you know if they were procured appropriately?’

‘You’re asking me questions I’m in no position to answer.’

‘But you must have been aware that the project’s schedule had slipped. The opening had already been delayed. Did Phillipa openly criticise the work, or was she covering for their incompetence?’

Claudia’s fingers began to explore the silver handle of a teaspoon on the table. ‘I couldn’t say. Like everyone else, I’m waiting eagerly to see what comes of the inquiry.’

‘Tell me about Declan Gallagher. Did you know him?’

‘I was aware of him, yes. He came to some of the fundraisers, I believe.’

‘And the night of the fire, did you see him at all?’

‘No.’

Given Claudia’s previous obfuscation about her experience that night, Leanne changed tack. She stopped asking questions and left a pause for Claudia to fill.

Claudia took a breath before deciding to speak. Her expression was pained when she said, ‘You can’t begin to imagine the chaos inside the auditorium, and I’d defy anyone to give a clear account of what they did or didn’t see. I get flashes of memory, people’s faces swimming in front of my vision. There was so much noise, people calling out to each other, children crying, others screaming.’ She lifted the teaspoon and stared at her warped image in its reflection.

Leanne couldn’t ignore Claudia’s distress, but her thirst for answers was impossible to quench. ‘Do you believe Declan went inside to save his sister, or could he have had another motive? There’s a suggestion he needed to get into the offices on the ground floor. Could there have been something in there he didn’t want anyone to see?’

She stopped short of asking, ‘Why are you protecting these killers?’ As Claudia was eager to point out, she had never been inside Phillipa’s circle of trust.