A shocked silence greeted Alex’s pronouncement. Lindsay stared at him in utter bewilderment, unable to believe her eyes. Then she turned wildly to look at everyone else. Ruth looked as if she would faint, and Claire’s mouth fell open. Jim Carstairs had leapt to his feet, while Antonis finally lifted his head out of his hands. Cordelia went white, then scarlet. She broke the silence with a peal of laughter, which echoed round the room.

“Oh Lindsay,” she eventually gasped. “You’ve really done it this time.”

Claire found her voice. “This is the last straw,” she hissed. “You’re fired. You’ve turned this whole business into a circus.” She got to her feet. “Come on, Cordelia. I’ve heard enough to know that this inquiry is a complete farce from start to finish.”

“No, wait a minute,” Cordelia protested, a laugh bubbling in her voice. “I want to hear how Lindsay explains all this. Lindsay, come on. Tell me how your surprise witness identifies me as the murderer of a woman I’d never even met. I’m dying to hear this, Claire.”

Humiliated, Lindsay somehow found her voice. “I can’t explain it. There must be some mistake.”

Alex, unaware of the undercurrents in the scene before him, chose that moment to butt in. “It was her, I’m telling you, she’s the one I saw coming out of the flat that night. I swear it.”

Claire strode across the room and towered over his slight frame. “I don’t know who the hell you are, you lying little shit. But if you say that once more, I’ll sue you for defamation so fast your feet won’t hit the ground.” She rounded on Lindsay. “I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, but it had better stop right now. You’ve lost her, Lindsay, and no amount of ridiculous grandstanding will make an ounce of difference to that.” Lindsay listened in silence, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. She couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. All she knew was that she had made an utter fool of herself. She struggled for words, but before she could find anything suitable to say, Cordelia interjected.

“Calm down, Claire,” Cordelia said. “Come on, let’s go home.”

“I want her to apologize to you,” Claire replied obstinately. “She’s accused you of murder, for God’s sake. Surely you’re not going to calmly walk away as if nothing had happened?”