‘This was never reported to the police,’ Barrett added.

‘No. I know. She said she just wanted to forget about it. We only spoke about it the once. I never said anything more to her.’

‘Were you aware that Toni had an affair while she was married to Mike Williams?’ Marion’s cheeks flushed slightly red.

‘Not me.’ She got up from the sofa. ‘Can I offer you tea, or something else to drink?’

‘No, thank you, Mrs Bolton. We’re almost done with our questions.’ Barrett encouraged her to return to the couch, but the woman remained where she was.

‘I’ve told you all that I know.’ Palmer could see her shutters were coming down. ‘She was a complicated woman, not everyone’s cup of tea, but I don’t know why she was killed.’

Realising they weren’t going to get any more out of her, Barrett also stood.

‘Here is my card,’ he said, handing it over. ‘You’ve been very helpful.’

‘You will be delicate with what I told you?’ Marion’s eyes were full of concern.

‘Absolutely,’ Palmer interjected.

‘If you think of anything else that might be relevant, please give us a call. Thank you both for your time this evening, we won’t keep you any longer.’

‘You were right to keep a lid on the abortion, sir.’

‘I had a feeling it would surface sooner or later.’ Barrett looked smug as he pulled his seatbelt on.

‘We’ve still no idea who the father was, though,’ Palmer commented.

‘Wrong, Joe, we know more than we did. We know for certain it wasn’t her husband, and we know the victim claimed she was raped.’

‘True, but that doesn’t exactly narrow it down.’

‘I thought Mrs Bolton’s comment about it being someone Toni knew was interesting. She’s a wily old bird. I bet she doesn’t miss a trick.’

‘Yes. Did you notice how she clammed up when you asked her about the affair?’ Palmer said, starting the car.

‘I did, Joe, I did indeed.’ Barrett strummed his fingers on his knee. ‘Right, back to the station. Let’s hope there is still some pizza left.’

‘You did the right thing, love.’ Alfred handed over a cup of hot cocoa to his wife as she stood in the kitchen looking out at the moonlit garden.

‘I don’t know. What if Erica ends up in trouble? I’d never want that.’

‘I know. I got the feeling that they were going to be very discreet. It’s not in their interest to land Erica in trouble with work. They just want to find out everything they can about Toni.’

‘It’s Gerald I feel sorry for.’ Marion sipped her drink.

‘Yes, poor chap.’

‘She wasn’t a good wife to Mike and she was never very nice to Gerald, but he did love her. He must be devastated. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll pay him a visit.’