‘You mean like punting each way on a horse race, chief?’ Norman Potting interrupted. ‘Hedging your bet?’

‘That’s a rather crude way of putting it, Norman, and I’m not so much a betting man these days, I prefer to follow the evidence, but point taken. I’m giving you and Velvet the action of establishing whether Eden Paternoster is still alive.’ He looked at both officers.

Velvet Wilde nodded. Potting pursed his lips. ‘Five to two on the husband being the killer, ten to one his wife’s still alive.’

Frustrated now, Grace snapped, ‘This is not a game, Norman. These are people’s lives.’

Immediately he realized his nerves were frayed and he was exhausted. And he felt guilty for snapping at Norman, who was going through his own particular hell right now. Maybe he should have stayed home and not come in.

Looking suitably crestfallen, Potting said, ‘Sorry, chief.’

Moving on, Grace continued, ‘What if when Eden left their BMW in the Tesco car park she went round the back of the store and got into another car? One of the actions you need to start with is to check all local car hire companies and see if her name pops up. Recheck the CCTV cameras around the outside of the store and see if you can spot anything that might support this theory. Perhaps she had a disguise planned. A wig, different clothing. Maybe she had an accomplice – a lover or friend waiting in the car park?’

‘What about checking all ANPR cameras around the roads out of the store, sir?’ Emma-Jane Boutwood asked.

‘I’ve been thinking about that, EJ. But that’s a big ask – the exit leads onto a main road going in two different directions, and we don’t even know what vehicle we’re looking for. If any. If Niall Paternoster is telling the truth – and it’s still a big if – then Eden might well have left the Tesco car park in a vehicle. If we could identify that vehicle, then yes, definitely.’

‘What about a number-plate match to any vehicles on Nevill Road in the window of time before he could have got back there, boss?’ Jack Alexander suggested.

Grace nodded thoughtfully. ‘OK, you’re suggesting, depending on where the cameras are located – if any are in either location – that we see what vehicles left Tesco and then drove along Nevill Road? It’s a big task, but something we should consider if there is a camera there.’

DS Stratford interrupted them. ‘Sir, there is one ANPR camera a quarter mile to the east of the store. The other is just over a mile to the west. But there are none covering any part of Nevill Road.’

‘Shame,’ Grace said, and looked back at Alexander. ‘It was a good idea.’

DS Stratford focused back on his screen. Grace turned to the Financial Investigator. ‘We need a thorough breakdown of Eden Paternoster’s finances, Emily. Drill into her background, look at her maiden name, Townsend, and any other family names she might possibly have used as an alias.’