She walked slowly out of the bedroom, her hand on the wall to steady herself. In the bathroom she turned on the shower and eased herself out of her clothes. The water was a shock and she began to shiver again. She gave herself a cursory rub with shower gel then switched the water off. It took another half hour for her to dress and make it downstairs. She felt queasy at the thought of food and wondered if she’d caught whatever had ailed Tony. Hadn’t Al said he’d be back in today? Maybe it was a twenty-four-hour thing. She had to hope so. There was simply too much to do.

She poured a glass of water and sat at the dining table to look at her phone. There was a missed call from an unfamiliar number and the voicemail icon was flashing. She clicked to play the message and listened.

‘Hello Inspector Mackay. This is Natasha Lynch from Carloway Money returning your call. I’m on holiday for a couple of weeks but, if it’s urgent, please feel free to call me back.’

She had to think for a minute. Then she remembered. Russell Fox’s financial advisor. Her finger hovered over the icon to call back then she decided against it. Her head simply wasn’t clear enough. Maybe she wasn’t up to work after all. She tapped out a brief message to Chris asking him to call Natasha then went to find the paracetamol.

Clare wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep when she became vaguely aware her phone was ringing. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and looked round. It was still on the dining table. She got to her feet, steadying herself on the mantelpiece and walked over to answer the call.

‘Inspector?’ a voice said.

Clare racked her brains. She’d heard the voice somewhere before, but where?

‘Yes,’ she said, surprised at how loud her own voice sounded in her head. She tugged at her earlobe trying to make it pop.

‘I need to speak to you. It’s really important.’

Who was it? She knew she’d heard it recently. But… ‘Who is this?’

‘It’s Luke,’ the voice said. ‘Luke Gasparini. Can I come to the station, please? I want to make a statement.’

Chapter 36