Miranda had been very clever indeed. Tooting, in his arrogance, hadn’t bothered looking around her office, and Matt had secured a warrant to have her computer taken away. Yesterday evening – the evening of her death – the professor had downloaded a file using an unusual icon. As Kelly stared at the image sent to her, she recognised it as the coat of arms of the Montague-Rolands.

Ted’s call jolted her; she thought it apt considering his love of heraldry. She asked him what he knew about the Montague-Rolands.

‘You still working on that case?’

‘I am. Why is it that all the gentry around here have secrets?’

‘It’s part of the job description. I met old Lord Allerdale once. He was a keen hunter back in the day. He owned most of the land behind Cat Bells. Did you find out what happens to it all now?’

‘Not yet. I get the impression that whatever Alan Montague-Roland wanted, it didn’t go down too well. Thank you for earlier, by the way. It meant a lot. I’d been dreading it. It’s hard to let go.’

‘I know. Look, Kelly, I was calling for a reason. I’ve been thinking. I wanted to ask you if I should go ahead and arrange for you to meet your half-sisters.’

Kelly was floored. It was certainly a distraction, but perhaps not quite the kind she was after.

‘Wow. Do they know?’

‘Not yet. But I think that if you were to meet, you would all be rather fond of one another.’

‘What about Mary?’ She wasn’t sure what his ex-wife would think about it.

‘The girls are adults.’

‘Right. Well, yes. If they agree. Why not?’

He rang off happy and Kelly stared at the phone for a few minutes before another call came in and claimed her attention.

Chapter 48

Philip Tooting loosened his tie and poured a glass of wine, taking it on to his terrace overlooking the Thames. The view took in Tower Bridge, and that alone doubled the price tag compared to properties further down the river, out of sight of the prestigious landmark. His wife had no idea that he owned it. Not that she cared; she had plenty of places to go should she desire it. The only reason they weren’t divorced was because of the cost. Separation would be ludicrous and financially disastrous; why pay solicitors when they could lead their lives independently, still benefiting from their wealth?

A call came through to his private work phone and he saw that it was his secretary, so he answered. She informed him that Miranda Cooper’s computer had been taken away by the police. Ravensword worked round the clock – weekends meant nothing – but Philip had never set foot in the place on a Saturday as long as he’d been there. His secretary worked one weekend out of every four, though, and she’d witnessed the police coming and going.