The detective said, ‘But she didn’t wander off, did she? Because she was found in the back yard.’

I said, ‘But I didn’t know that until now.’

‘Did you consider reporting Mrs Bannerman missing at that point?’ asked the other detective.

I said, ‘Why would I report her missing?’

‘Because she never returned to her house?’

I said, ‘I wasn’t in the business of keeping tabs on Mrs Bannerman. She basically lived in the garden. She slept in a bungalow out the back. She was a grown woman, and a demented one.’

The detective said, ‘So, do you mean to tell us that you were not concerned about the fact that Mrs Bannerman has never, in all these years, returned to her home?’

Again I said, ‘I’m not her keeper. I thought she must be enjoying herself, spending time with her niece.’

They said, ‘For eight years?’

I said, ‘It was actually after seven years that I did report her missing.’

The detective said, ‘Right, because for some reason, last year, you decided to apply to the Coroner for a death certificate for Mrs Bannerman?’

I said, ‘You’re making it sound like I was up to something. I couldn’t have reported Beth missing any earlier than that. You have to wait seven years before you can apply for that certificate.’

The detective said, ‘So, after seven years you suddenly decided she must be dead?’

I said, ‘I didn’t know what had happened to her, but she obviously wasn’t around. And after seven years, you can apply to have somebody declared dead. Everyone knows that.’

They said, ‘But why would you do that, if you didn’t know whether she was dead or not?’

I said, ‘Because you can do it after seven years.’

They said, ‘And of course, you and Mark are the beneficiaries of Beth’s will, aren’t you? So if she’s dead, the two of you inherit Delaney House.’

I said, ‘That’s right, but that had nothing to do with it. I’ve been living at Delaney House forever. It’s been as good as mine forever. I’m running my business there.’

They said, ‘When did you become a beneficiary of Mrs Bannerman’s will?’

I said, ‘It’s funny because it was just before Beth went missing.’

They said, ‘What an amazing coincidence!’ or something like that, and I said, ‘Not really. After that niece turned up at the house, Beth just decided that she didn’t want her to inherit the house. She wanted me and Mark to inherit it. And I suppose she thought she better get that sorted out so she got Mark to send a new will off to her solicitor, all signed.’

They said, ‘But you said she was demented.’

I said, ‘Well, maybe she was but not demented enough not to know what she wanted done with her house.’

They said, ‘And then she went missing?’

And I said, ‘Right.’

They said, ‘And when the Coroner contacted Mrs Bannerman’s family to ask if they had any objection to him issuing a death certificate, they said they didn’t even know that their Aunt Beth was missing.’