‘She knows Pawel. She used to be a waitress at the hotel where he works. He paid her money to make a scene in the club so he could break up with Nadia.’

Paula was completely baffled now. Fifty ways to leave your lover, and still people were coming up with new ones. ‘I don’t get it. Why couldn’t he just tell her it was over?’

‘He has a new job in Cornwall. A promotion. He thought if he told her, she’d want to come with him. And he didn’t want to be tied to her. So he thought the best way was to make her hate him.’ She exhaled a stream of smoke and gave a twisted smile. ‘Worked perfectly. And poor Nadia had no idea.’

‘You didn’t tell her?’

Anya gave her an incredulous look. ‘Why would I tell her? I love Nadia. She already knew he was shit. She didn’t need to know precisely what kind of shit. It would only have made her feel bad about herself, like she was some piece-of-crap person he couldn’t wait to get rid of. No, I didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell anybody. Not even Ashley.’ Her chin came up, defiant and defensive. ‘So you see? Is nothing to do with somebody killing her. Pawel, he is in Cornwall, being the big shot assistant manager. He didn’t have to kill her to get rid of her, just pay someone to tell his lies for him.’

She had a point, Paula thought. ‘And you’re sure Nadia had no suspicions?’

Anya shook her head. ‘She trusts people, Nadia. She always thinks the best of people. I think that’s why she is good at her job. She treats people like she expects the good from them, and that makes us better, I think.’

There was nothing wrong with Anya’s psychology, Paula thought. Carol Jordan worked in a similar way. Expect extraordinary things from your people and they’ll go flat out to give you what you hope for. Paula was beginning to think she’d have liked Nadia Wilkowa. ‘Ashley told us that Nadia carried a set of your keys. Is that right?’

She nodded. ‘Always. On her own keyring so they were always with her.’ She kicked at the ground with the pointed toe of her shoe. ‘I am hopeless. Always forgetting my keys and locking myself out like an idiot.’ Her face crumpled again. ‘Now who will I trust to take care of me?’

They talked to Anya for as long as it took her to smoke another two cigarettes, but by then she was shivering with cold and even Paula thought there was nothing more to be had from her. They said goodbye in the car park, Paula double-checking she had the correct details for the woman Pawel had paid to lie for him.