I saw the two police officers exchange glances again, as if this could confirm their theory that Clare had been having an affair.

‘There’s no way Liam Connolly would hurt, or could hurt anyone,’ Julie added. ‘He’s a good person.’

‘This is just one in a number of lines of inquiry,’ DI Bradley said. ‘We have a second picture for you to look at, as well. This one was captured outside Primrose on Strand Road, on the evening of 9 May. Clare’s bank records showed that she paid for a meal there that evening, most likely a dinner for two from the receipt amount. This was captured by the City Centre Initiative outside.’

He pushed two more pictures towards us. Julie noticed it first, or at least it sank in with her first. Her hand went to her mouth.

‘This doesn’t mean anything,’ she said. ‘They’re friends. Have been for a long time.’

I just looked at the picture, taking in the shape of my husband, his arm protectively around my friend’s shoulders as they walked out of the restaurant.

I heard Constable King speak.

‘So you know who this man is?’

I felt the room start to swim around me. I looked up to the windows high on the wall, partially open but not a breath of air breaking through them. I wanted to climb the walls, stick my head through the narrow opening, past the safety glass. Breathe.

The scratches on his arms.

His coldness.

How broken we’d become.

Did I know him at all?

‘That’s Rachel’s husband, Paul,’ I heard Julie say in a small voice.

Maybe it wasn’t so small. It was hard to tell over the sound of my blood rushing through my veins.

Chapter Thirty-One

Elizabeth

I’d called my son-in-law and asked him to bring the grandchildren around to see me a day early. Ever since I’d spoken to the police, told them more about Laura, I’d felt as if I’d betrayed her in some way. A part of me thought I’d be able to assuage some of that guilt if I spent time with Max and Ava.

She’d been a great wife and a loving mother. She’d doted on the children from the day and hour they were born and seemed to take to motherhood like a duck to water. She’d said having the children made her feel less lonely – she’d always have company, even when her husband was at work. As a family unit they were a joy to watch. He made her happy. The children made her complete.