When she got there, she noticed the card from Janet, which she’d left on the table. She put the glass down, picked it up and tore it open.

When she slid the card out of the envelope the sight of it caused her heart to curl in on itself. She only just managed to stifle a scream by clamping a hand over her mouth.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

James had decided to walk home from the village hall to give himself time to think. He moved slowly, forcing his limbs into an uneven rhythm, while pulling Lorna Manning’s wheeled case.

Snow crunched under his shoes and a fierce wind whipped the flakes against his face and coat. The temperature had dropped dramatically, and had frozen the slush that had piled up earlier on paths and driveways, but he was oblivious to how cold and uncomfortable he was because in his head he kept replaying the strange conversation he’d had with Andrew Sullivan.

‘One of my snouts wanted me to know that a couple of his colleagues at the Yard have been making enquiries on your behalf,’ he’d said. ‘You’ve apparently got it into your head that I’ve followed you and your wife to your little hideaway up north so that I can get my own back for what you did to me.’

James wasn’t surprised that a couple of bent coppers had tipped him off, but he was surprised that Sullivan had responded by contacting him directly.

‘Well, I hate to disappoint you, Detective Walker, but I’m nowhere near your place,’ he’d continued. ‘I’m taking a break in good old Cornwall, and I’m just leaving the police station in Newquay after telling them exactly what I’ve been up to this past week. You’ll soon be getting a call from a detective sergeant named Ackerman.’

‘Are you being serious?’ James had replied.

‘You better believe it, man. No way am I being drawn into whatever shit is going down where you are. But while I’ve got you on the line, I will remind you that you and me do have some unfinished business. So sooner or later we will be meeting up. And it’ll be at a time and place of my choosing.’

The call from Detective Ackerman in Newquay came just minutes later.

The DS identified himself and gave his office number so that James could check it out if he had any doubts about him being who he said he was. He explained that Andrew Sullivan had arrived unexpectedly, told them who he was and demanded to speak to a senior officer.

‘He told me he wants to prove to you that he’s been here in Cornwall for the past five days,’ Ackerman said. ‘He’s given me the name of the hotel he’s staying in and listed all the places he’s been to. He says he fears you might try to stitch him up for something he hasn’t done.’

James asked him to look into the alibi Sullivan had given and spelled out why he wanted to know about Sullivan’s movements.