“Because it doesn’t seem right to me,” she replied stubbornly. “You didn’t read that suicide note. I did and I don’t believe Sarah killed Lorna. For a start, the note was too long. It’s as if she was trying to convince us that she’d done it. But it was also short on detail. There was nothing in it that wasn’t common knowledge. I’m convinced that she killed herself because she thought her father had done it and she couldn’t face living with that.”

“But if Sarah killed herself because she thought her father was guilty, why not go to see him? Why go to see Barrington?”

“I’m going to see Barrington, because that’s what we were intending to do as the next logical step. Besides, it’s a softer option than Cartwright just now.”

“You’re crazy,” Cordelia retorted angrily. “Can’t you just accept that it’s all over and you’ve made a mistake? You don’t have to be perfect, you know. No one expects you to be infallible.”

“I wasn’t wrong, damn it,” Lindsay exploded, “I’m bloody certain Sarah didn’t kill Lorna. It’s not enough any more just to clear Paddy. Not for me, anyway. There’s someone walking around out there who committed murder. I don’t think that’s a very healthy state of affairs, do you?”

“No, but why should it be you that’s got to put it right? Call the police, tell Dart what you think. That’s how you should do it. Haven’t you learned anything from what’s happened?”

“Oh yes,” said Lindsay, her voice heavy with sarcasm, “and Dart’s going to pay a lot of attention to me, isn’t he? No, I’m going to talk to Barrington. That’s that.”

They stood glaring at each other. Cordelia broke the silence with a sigh. “Well, I’d better come with you, hadn’t I? We don’t want you walking into a potential murderer’s front room on your own, do we?”

But Lindsay, thoroughly roused, was in no mood for olive branches. “I don’t need a minder,” she stated. “I’ve been looking after myself in dodgy situations for a long time now. I think I’ll manage it on my own. See you later.”

She turned on her heel and walked over to her car without looking back. When she glanced behind in her rearview mirror, Cordelia had gone. Lindsay smacked her fist against the steering wheel.

“Why do I do it? Why the hell do I do it?”

20