There was a short pause then he said, ‘Well, yes. I booked it. Paid with my credit card and the others reimbursed me for their share.’

Chris said, ‘Did everyone contribute to the cost?’

‘Yes, of course. Well, not Russell. It was his birthday, you see.’

‘So, was that a four-way split?’ Chris went on. ‘Or five?’

Eamon’s eyes were flitting back and forward.

He’s trying to work out where we’re going with this, Clare thought.

‘Er, four,’ he said. ‘Me, Steve, Doug and Gaby.’

Clare nodded. ‘And what made you choose Lamond Lodge?’

He glanced at her then away again. ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I think one of the others found it.’

‘Would that be Mr Gerrard?’ Clare asked.

‘Probably. Yes. I think it was Doug.’

‘Any idea why he chose the Lodge?’ Chris said.

Eamon shrugged. ‘I’d say it was a sound choice, apart from what happened to Russell, obviously. You saw the house. Pretty amazing.’

Clare said, ‘So there was no other reason for choosing Lamond Lodge?’

Eamon shifted on his seat.

‘It wasn’t, perhaps,’ Clare went on, ‘that Mr Gerrard had an interest in the property?’

There was a pause. Eamon avoided her glance, brushing at his sleeve as though there was dust on it. ‘Doug…’ he began, ‘erm, Doug said he could get us the Lodge at a decent price. Top-notch accommodation, nice and secluded so Gaby wouldn’t be bothered. Said he’d even throw in a security guard.’ He smiled. ‘Seemed like a good deal to me.’

Clare said, ‘Was there a reason Mr Gerrard didn’t book the Lodge himself?’

Eamon smiled. ‘I’m good with paperwork, Inspector. It’s what I do. Doug said would I mind, as he was pretty busy with the pubs. So I gave my credit card to my PA and asked her to book it for me.’ He took out his mobile phone. ‘I can give you her number if you like.’

Chris noted down the number then Clare went on. ‘Did any of you visit the Lodge prior to your stay? To check on the accommodation. Anything like that?’

Eamon looked genuinely surprised at this. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I’d have thought – a place like that – well, it’d be booked up in the summer. Wouldn’t be easy to have a look round.’

‘And, during the time you stayed there, did you have cause to go up to the top storey?’

Eamon stiffened. ‘I didn’t shoot Russell, if that’s what you mean, Inspector. I’ve never handled a gun in my life.’

Clare shook her head. ‘No, not at all, Mr Ferry. I’m not suggesting that. Only that, if you were in the room used to shoot Russell Fox, you might have noticed something.’

‘To be honest, Inspector, I couldn’t tell you. The house was a maze. Ten bedrooms, you know.’