“The only question left,” Lindsay said through mouthfuls of hot haddock, “is why. I mean, we know Laura killed Ian and then she killed Tom, but we don’t know why or the reason for the nine-year gap. Hey, this is really good,” she exclaimed, pointing to her haddock.

Sophie nodded agreement. Both women concentrated on their fish in respectful silence. Sophie scraped her plate clean first, and said, “There’s obviously something I’m missing here. How exactly do we know that Laura killed Ian and Tom?”

Lindsay shovelled the last few chips on to her fork and paused for a moment. “She came over to our table at breakfast that day. She could easily have nicked the inhaler out of Ian’s jacket pocket. She might even have been wearing a perfume he was allergic to—he once said to me he had to trot off to the cosmetic department at Selfridges every time Laura wanted to try out a new perfume, to get a whiff of it and make sure it didn’t set his chest off. And then there’s the water.” She polished off the chips.

“Pure conjecture,” Sophie said.

Lindsay swallowed the last mouthful of fish, pushed her plate aside and poured herself another cup of strong tea. “Okay. But who else had access to Ian’s car to plant the rug and the air fresheners? And who knew where the spare inhaler was kept, so they could allay suspicion by moving it?”

“Well, you did for one,” Sophie said.

Lindsay grinned. “Yeah, but I didn’t have a set of keys for Ian’s car, whereas Laura, who had lived with him for years, almost certainly did. And she had a golden retriever, so she was in a pretty good position to get her hands on a travelling rug covered in dog hairs. And she’d already established how allergic Ian was to her precious hound.”

“All circumstantial, though. Where’s the smoking gun? And what possible motive could she have had?”

Lindsay ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know. Yet. I’ve been trying to remember exactly what Ian said to me about their break-up. But it’s nine years ago, and even my trained reporter’s memory is having a bit of a struggle.” She frowned and sipped her tea. “He threw her out. He said there were some things you can’t forgive and forget. There was another bloke involved, but I never found out who. Whoever he was, he didn’t stick around for long, because Laura was footloose and fancy-free just a few weeks later, I seem to remember . . .” Lindsay’s voice trailed off in the effort of concentration.