‘One final thing,’ Gillard said. ‘Do you know if the family owns shares in Nosh2U, the food delivery company?’

Zayan looked heavenwards. ‘Heavens, they never stop talking about it. How it’s going to do this, how it’s going to do that. Even Harry seems obsessed, constantly checking the share price. You’d think he had enough money, wouldn’t you?’ He began walking down the stairs. ‘There’s more to life than cash, isn’t there?’

With a final check around the bedroom, Gillard went downstairs himself, making his way quietly past the fashion show to the kitchen. It was a very large split-level galley leading down to a set of French doors into the garden. There were two very large American-style refrigerators, packed with food. He set about unloading the contents onto the adjacent counter, looking for more of the mysterious jars.

‘Would you like a snack?’

Gillard jumped at the voice right behind him, and saw Kiara, barefoot again. ‘You only had to ask.’

‘I’m sorry, I should have said. In your mother’s flat in Leatherhead, I found jars of what turned out to be urine in the fridge, and I wondered if she kept some here too.’

‘So you’re not hungry but thirsty?’ A grin cracked her face. ‘It’s all right, I’m only pulling your leg. My mother had some unusual habits. She was fond of traditional and herbal remedies. I don’t think they really did much good.’

‘So your mother had complained of ill health?’

‘Oh yes, for many years really. It was only in the last year or so that she seemed to lose so much weight and started losing her hair. It really made her anxious because she had started to do a lot more TV work and was having to wear a wig. She was desperate that nobody should realise. In some ways she was quite vain.’

‘Did she have any idea what caused the problems?’

‘Well, she had various theories, but I think we all just assumed she was working too hard and not eating enough.’ Kiara stopped and looked Gillard up and down. ‘Can I ask why you are spending time doing this? I hear you have made an arrest, a thirty-three-year-old man. I heard it on the news.’

‘We have, yes.’

‘And he’s been charged, I understand.’

‘Yes.’ Gillard was already feeling very uncomfortable.

‘So what on earth are you doing going through our refrigerator? Didn’t this man just hit her over the head?’

‘Ms Roy, don’t jump to conclusions. We still have several active lines of inquiry.’

‘I fail to understand how helping yourself to the contents of our kitchen is going to help solve the case,’ she said.

‘Then I’m afraid you’re just going to have to bear with us for a while.’

Kiara leaned past him into the fridge, and brought out a small clear jar of pale yellow fluid from the door shelf. ‘There you go. I think it’s the only one here. The label says February 9. I’m sure you’ll find it an excellent vintage.’