He didn’t say anything immediately. Instead, he assessed her credibility. And Archie Gale’s. Nothing came free with Gale. Nothing was given up to the police or the prosecutors without an upside for him. If Janine was freely willing to confess to an affair, there had to be a strategy behind it. Either Gale wanted credit for providing information that the police would have discovered anyway – or he wanted to cloud the facts by handing them a shiny new suspect in Jay’s murder.

Nathan Skinner.

‘You were sleeping with a man who lost his job because of your husband?’ Stride said.

‘Yes.’

‘Well, tell me how this affair came about.’

Janine regained some of her composure and arrogance. Her blue eyes met his. She moistened her lips and brushed the loose hair from her face. ‘Nathan was working overnight security at St. Anne’s last May. I often work late, and we got to know each other.’

‘You knew who he was?’

‘Yes, of course I did.’

‘And yet you engaged with him anyway,’ Stride said.

‘He approached me, not the other way around. This isn’t hard to figure out, Lieutenant. Nathan’s motives were transparent. He sought a friendship with me, because – how should I phrase this? – he was interested in screwing me as a way to get back at Jay for screwing him.’

‘I understand his motives. It’s yours I’m struggling with.’

‘Is it a blindness of handsome men that they don’t recognize it in others? You’re very attractive yourself, Lieutenant, which you obviously know. I’ve said as much to Cindy. Nathan Skinner is an extremely attractive man, too. So yes, I allowed him to seduce me.’

‘Getting into a relationship with Nathan Skinner sounds a lot more complicated than you’re letting on,’ Stride said.

Janine shrugged. ‘Last May was a difficult time for me. Jay and I were struggling. I was in severe pain much of the time because I’d broken my ankle over the winter. So to be honest, Nathan’s attentions were flattering. That was exactly what I needed at the time.’

‘Is the affair still going on?’

‘No, I broke it off in December.’

‘Why?’

Janine hesitated. ‘Jay confronted me about it. He knew. I didn’t realize he’d hired a private detective, but the fact is, these things have a way of coming out. It was just a matter of time.’

‘What was Jay’s reaction?’

‘He was upset, of course. He wanted me to break it off with Nathan, and I agreed to do so. Frankly, the affair was becoming uncomfortable for me anyway. Nathan had developed an emotional attraction. He was falling in love. For me, it was just sex. He wanted more.’