‘Excused. Oily?’ She got the impression that Fabian knew exactly what he was talking about, but she wasn’t quite as clear whether he knew how far his father had been Donald’s willing accomplice.

‘He’s a fucking pervert, detective. Don’t believe any of her crocodile tears – that’s if she ever shed any. I bet she didn’t. She hates him. If it got out what Donald was into, the whole family would be ruined, and she knows it, which is why I told her to keep him away from my father,’ he said.

‘But it didn’t work, did it? They were together last weekend.’

‘No, it didn’t work,’ he admitted.

‘Elaine Reilly said that the last time she saw you, you threatened to kill Donald,’ she said.

‘It’s true, I did,’ he admitted.

‘Did you try?’

‘What? And sabotage my own father’s helicopter?’ he asked.

‘Maybe it was a last-minute arrangement and he wasn’t supposed to be on it; he was expected in Glasgow later on,’ she said.

‘Nice try, detective,’ he said.

‘But you did know about your father changing his will,’ she said. ‘Your mother didn’t.’

Silence engulfed the car and she thought he’d hung up, but he was still there.

‘Where is George? I need to speak to him urgently,’ she said.

‘I don’t know.’

‘What? Really? As in, you’ve lost communication?’

‘He’s in the business of discretion, detective. He’ll call me when he’s ready,’ he said.

Kelly’s blood boiled.

‘If he was your father’s right-hand man, as you indicate, his problem-solver, or fixer, and it was well known in the family circle that Donald was an embarrassment at least, and at most a liability, why wasn’t George on the helicopter with them?’

He didn’t answer.

‘Let me know as soon as you hear from him,’ she said, ending the call. Next, she called Nellie Lowther’s landline number. It made sense to Kelly that the woman had lied about knowing what was going on inside Laurie Fell, and thus it followed that she’d lied about seeing George Fellows there. It sounded like the man was Bart’s sidekick and go-to person, and so he’d have watched his back, given what went on inside the mansion. It was impossible that Nellie didn’t know he was there. Dan and Emma had reported that after leaving Eden House, Nellie had gone home and not left.

The number rang out.

The queue of traffic was laborious but steady, and she had at least half an hour to go before she hit Penrith. It made her antsy, and she put a call through to the duty officer at Eden House, asking if the forensic team had finished up at Laurie Fell.