‘We’ve had some information about a car seen near the Lodge,’ Clare lied. ‘Just wondering if Mark saw it at all.’

She seemed satisfied with this and felt in her jeans for her mobile. She tapped it a few times then held it out for Chris to copy the number.

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘Got it now.’

The woman indicated the barbeque. ‘If there’s nothing else…’

‘Just one thing,’ Chris said, ‘Mark was working on Friday night, wasn’t he?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Was it a late one?’

‘Think so. Why?’

Chris ignored this. ‘Just wondering what time he came home.’

She stared at him for a moment. Then she said, ‘Actually, I wasn’t here. I’d gone to see my mum. Down near Peebles. Mark said he’d be working most of the weekend so why didn’t I take the boys to see her.’

‘So you were away on Friday?’

‘Yeah, we left about five.’

Chris smiled, keeping his tone light. ‘When did you get back?’

‘Sunday morning. Why?’

He shrugged. ‘No reason. Just being nosey. Comes with the job.’

She laughed and went back to her burgers. Clare and Chris walked slowly to the car.

‘So,’ Chris said, ‘Mark Mooney has no alibi for Saturday morning.’

‘He does not! He could have been up there all night. Plenty of time to slip up to the top floor, retrieve the gun. Assuming it was hidden there.’

‘Or he could have brought it,’ Chris said. ‘No one’s going to ask the security guard what’s in the boot of his car.’

Clare nodded. ‘The sooner we get his DNA to the lab the happier I’ll be.’

Chapter 43

‘Got something, boss,’ Janey said, as they entered the incident room.

‘Yeah?’ Clare wandered over to Janey’s desk and sank down in a chair.

‘Luke Gasparini’s finances. Couple of things come to light.’

‘Go on.’

‘First of all I called a pal who works for the Met and she spoke to a contact in media circles. Seems Luke has taken a bit of a gamble on his next production.’

Clare frowned. ‘Gamble, how?’

‘He’s signed a big name for a start, half the fee up-front. And word is the production costs are spiralling out of control. So he secured a substantial loan from a third party, just over a month ago. We did see that when we checked initially; it’s not that unusual for these companies. But my pal’s contact reckons the loan will only keep them afloat for six months, tops. And once something like that gets around investors start pulling out.’

‘So he could go bust?’ Clare asked.

Janey nodded. ‘Quite possibly. Especially if the loan’s called in.’

‘This guy, Luke,’ Chris said, ‘strikes me as pretty industry-savvy. This isn’t his first big production. He’d surely have known to keep a tight rein on the finances.’