‘It won’t take me long to clear it up,’ Janet said from behind Annie. ‘That wall could do with a fresh coat of paint anyway.’

‘So what happened?’ Annie asked her.

‘You know what I’m like,’ Janet said. ‘I have a short fuse at times and lash out. Today everything got on top of me. The last straw was when my sister called to say she wouldn’t be coming for Christmas because of the murders. And I was so looking forward to seeing her. I threw my favourite gin glass at the wall and knocked over the tree. I know it was stupid but it did make me feel a bit better for a short time.’

‘Come through to the kitchen. I can make you a hot drink or you can share a bottle of wine with me.

Annie opted for the wine and they sat at the table beneath the kitchen window. On top of it was a pile of about ten envelopes with names on.

‘One of those is a Christmas card for you,’ Janet said. ‘I was planning to deliver them today but I never got around to it.’

Janet took a bottle of white wine from the fridge and filled two glasses. It made Annie realise that she’d drunk twice as much alcohol in the last couple of days as she usually did.

‘It’s nice to see you,’ Janet said, placing a glass in front of Annie. ‘Did you drop by for any particular reason?’

Annie shrugged, features impassive. ‘There is something I want to chat to you about, but first tell me why your day has been so horrid.’

Janet swallowed some wine and pursed her lips. ‘It got off to a bad start when I heard the terrible news about Lorna. I was still trying to digest it when Sonia Jenkins turned up here to tell me that I wouldn’t be welcome at the church service for Charlie. I had intended to go, but she was very aggressive and warned me that she would make a scene if I did. Then, an hour later, my ex rang to say he won’t allow the twins to come back home until the police have caught whoever killed Charlie and Lorna. We had words and he hung up on me before I could speak to the boys. Soon after that my sis phoned and I felt like slitting my wrists.’

‘Were you not meant to be working today?’ Annie asked her.

‘I’ve scaled back on visits over Christmas. There are a few people in the village I’ll be seeing, but my usual rounds outside are being covered by someone else.’

‘Will Ron Curtis be among those you’ll be seeing?’ Annie asked her.

The question surprised Janet and her body visibly stiffened.

‘I’m due to call in at his house on Christmas Eve,’ she said. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘Because I was wondering if you knew that Daniel is staying with him.’

‘As a matter of fact, I did know.’