‘I’ll go and see him tomorrow,’ he told her. ‘But to be on the safe side I’ll get a uniform to put The King’s Head under surveillance tonight. If he ventures out, we’ll know. Now, have you told me everything you know about his movements last night and today?’

Annie gave it some thought before replying.

‘There is one other thing you should know,’ she said. ‘Bill says he got confused after leaving the garage and started walking away from the village. Daniel Curtis was passing in his car and stopped to offer him a lift. He accepted.’

She paused there and chewed on her bottom lip. James could see she was struggling with how much to reveal to him.

‘I already know about that, Annie,’ he said. ‘Daniel Curtis was the last person I interviewed today and he told me.’

Annie’s back straightened and her jaw inched forward.

‘Did he also tell you that he pumped Bill for information about me?’ she said.

James nodded. ‘He’s trying to find out if he made you pregnant just before you broke up with him. Janet Dyer told his father that you had an abortion.’

Annie stared at her husband for several seconds, one eye squinting.

Then she said, ‘It’s true. I got pregnant and had the baby aborted. I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you. It isn’t something I’m proud of. And I certainly don’t want Daniel Curtis to know about it. Janet was the only person who knew outside the family and she should not have told Daniel’s dad. I’ve been to see her and she knows I’m not happy.’

She made a noise in the back of her throat and started sobbing. James stood and walked around the table to comfort her.

‘Don’t let it upset you, hon,’ he said. ‘It really doesn’t bother me that you had an abortion back then or that you didn’t tell me. It was none of my business. All that concerns me is your wellbeing. Whatever you did or didn’t do in the past won’t change how much I love you.’

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Annie had been in bed for the best part of an hour, but James was still wide awake and struggling to get his thoughts into some kind of order.

He’d stayed up because he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep with so much on his mind. He was trying to pull together a plan for tomorrow while reflecting on the long, emotional conversation he’d had with Annie.

It was now 11 p.m. and he was on his fourth whiskey. It’d be the last though, because he didn’t want to wake up in the morning with a stinking hangover.

When they had talked about the abortion his wife’s eyes had teared up. It was clear that the secret coming to light had resurrected so many bad memories and made her question once again her decision to go through with it. She had even confessed to James that she was fearful that it might be the reason she hadn’t become pregnant, despite their trying. James very much doubted that was the case and had tried his best to console and reassure her. He told her that he had warned Daniel Curtis to stay away from her. But he didn’t go so far as to make her aware of the other man’s loathsome remark – I want to know if it’s true that your wife killed my baby.