‘No. I mean, yes. I knew she was running, but not where.’ His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Stabbed.’ He saw his children’s faces and hung his head. Agony spread through his body and clarity began to shift the fug in his brain. His wife was dead.

‘Thomas, was Ella in trouble with anyone? Had anyone threatened her?’

He was being interviewed. Two minutes after finding out that Ella had been stabbed to death, they were fucking interrogating him. He let out a sob and the tears came. The officers waited. They must do this all the time: tell relatives that their lives were broken, over, no more. His thoughts turned to Neil Ormond from the golf club: he was high up in the force, maybe he could help. It gave him something to help drag him out of the abominable hole he was sinking into.

‘No, she wasn’t in trouble. She never gave anyone any reason to hate her. How do I tell the children?’

‘We can help you, Mr Watson.’

‘Have you caught who did it?’

‘Not yet. The perpetrator – or perpetrators – had fled the scene by the time the alarm was raised.’

‘There was more than one? Oh God.’

‘Nothing is confirmed yet, sir.’

He could tell they were working him out, and it dawned on him that, as prime suspect, they were trying to ascertain if he’d ordered a contract on his wife. He began to shake his head and sank his face into his hands.

‘Had she argued with anyone recently?’

‘No.’

‘Was she in debt?’

‘No.’

‘Was your marriage a happy one?’

He looked up into the eyes of the female detective and held them. She was rather beautiful and he felt sorry for her having to ask such impertinent questions.

‘Yes. Very.’

They said a few more things about searches and forensics, but he’d closed down. As they left, he remained in the same position.

Outside, Rob and Emma exchanged a few early thoughts. In a minute, they’d head back to Eden House, leaving the liaison team to do what it did best. They didn’t want to hang around to see the kids. It was unprofessional and would be too overwhelming for them. They’d got what they wanted: an initial assessment of Thomas Watson, as well as the family home. They’d call Kelly from the car.

Chapter 4