I hadn’t seen him before. Dark hair, green eyes, about my age. He wore a suit and tie. Did that mean he was a detective? With him was a woman in a grey trouser suit. She was in her fifties, I guessed, with a tight helmet haircut and grim expression.

‘Ms Caldwell?’

‘Er – yeah. Rachel.’

His manner was pleasant, which wrong-footed me. ‘I’m DS Hegarty, hello. From the Cumbria MIT. They’ve brought us into the case. Mind if we ask you a few questions at the station?’ Still just questions. Not an arrest.

I could hardly say no, could I? ‘Of course.’ I had no excuse to delay, I already had everything I needed on me: bag, keys, phone. ‘I’ll just leave the dog, all right?’

‘Of course.’

I went inside the house, but left the front door open so they could see I was coming straight out again. I took Brandy off the lead and put food and water down for her. For a moment I sank my face into her fur, so soft and warm, and gave a silent scream. Why me? Why again?

‘It’s OK,’ I murmured to her. ‘Be good, OK? I’ll be back soon.’ But would I? If they kept me in for long, I’d have to call Marilyn, tell her where the key was hidden in a plant pot outside. I wanted to stay where I was, slam the door in their faces and lock it and never go out again. I had a strong feeling that I might not be coming home.

I went out, a bright, helpful smile pasted on. Several people had halted along the green to watch, joggers and dog-walkers, a few I recognised. Everyone would soon know I was being questioned by the police for the second time in two days. It couldn’t be helped. DS Hegarty ushered me into the back of the police car – all friendly, not an arrest – and off we went down the lane into town.

Audrey next door was in her garden, trowelling at the soil, and she gaped at me. I knew the story would be all around the village in an hour, and not long after that, people would have put two and two together and made up their minds that I was guilty. I knew how it worked.

The odd thing was how calm I felt. Here I was, reliving my worst nightmare, and I was still able to think clearly, prepare. Perhaps I assumed that lightning doesn’t strike twice. I should have known that, both factually and metaphorically, that just isn’t true.

There’s Been A Murder!: ‘Spoonful of Sugar – Episode 24’

(podcast transcript, June 2017)

-So today we’re talking about an old one – Em, do you remember this one? The Mary Poppins Murders.