‘How would Hannah have got back to Barnard Bridge?’ Joe asked. ‘Lister’s car was still at the Willows, and with public transport it’d take you about a fortnight. It’d be quicker walking.’

‘Simon Eliot could have picked her up. They’d have worked it between them. She wouldn’t have done it without him, however it happened.’

‘Motive?’ Joe couldn’t believe they were considering this. He pictured Hannah Lister as Holly had described her, numb with grief and shock. But maybe killing your mother would do that to you.

‘We know Jenny wasn’t happy about the marriage and had asked them to wait. That relationship is so intense.’ Vera frowned. ‘You have a sense that both the kids are a bit crazy. If Jenny had something on Simon – some way of putting pressure on him to ditch the girl – Hannah would go mad. Literally.’ Vera narrowed her eyes and painted the picture so that Joe was there too. ‘They’re together in the steam room. Outside there’s the noise of the pool, but in there just the two of them, cut off from the world. Almost naked. It’s a place for confidences and serious conversation. Nowhere to hide. If Jenny told the girl there was no way the marriage could go ahead, I can see Hannah losing it and killing her mother. Then phoning Simon and getting him to bale her out.’

‘Danny Shaw?’

‘Same theory as with Morgan? He was there, saw what happened and tried to blackmail them.’ She looked up suddenly. ‘We still don’t know if he and Hannah knew each other at school. But I think he’d certainly recognize her. Not that many young folk living in the valley.’

‘Why would Hannah dump the bag next to Connie’s cottage?’

Vera gave a sudden loud laugh. ‘God knows. To throw us off the scent? I really don’t believe any of it. No way did Hannah kill her mother. You just have to be with her to see she’s grieving. We’re in Jackanory territory here, bonny lad. The land of make-believe.’

‘The rest of the Eliots then?’

Vera didn’t answer. She went to the window and looked down the valley, then walked unsteadily upstairs to the bathroom. Joe heard the toilet flush, the gurgle of water in old pipes. He stood up too. There was a half moon and a clear sky. A dizzying view of points of light in the village below. It was like looking out of a plane at night. He could feel the chill through the glass. Vera came back.