‘I don’t understand,’ Annie said. ‘The garage is only a few hundred yards from here.’

‘I know, but while I was there the guys were all talking about another murder in the village and police cars were driving by with their lights flashing. It put the shits up me and when I left there I was confused and disorientated. I started walking away from the village and pretty soon didn’t know where I was. I’d gone about half a mile, I think, before Curtis stopped.’

Annie felt another frisson of unease. It seemed like such an implausible explanation.

‘I tried to call you,’ she said. ‘But I’m guessing you’re going to tell me you left your phone in the room, again.’

‘That I did, Annie. I’m not used to carrying the pesky thing around with me.’

‘I heard you went out late last night,’ Annie said as casually as she could. ‘Where’d you go?’

‘For a walk,’ he replied. ‘I got bored in the room and they don’t allow smoking. So I wandered around for a bit, had a couple of ciggies, and then went back. I had a good sleep after that.’

‘Did you see anyone else?’

He shook his head. ‘The village was dead and that suited me. I was in no mood for conversation.’

‘So what kind of conversation did you have in the car with Daniel Curtis?’

Bill drank some of his beer and licked the froth from his top lip before answering.

‘He asked me if I’d moved back to the village and I told him I was staying just for Christmas. He said he was spending the holiday with his dad.’

‘And did he mention me?’

Bill nodded. ‘He said he’d heard you were living here again with your husband but that he hadn’t seen you around.’

‘And that was all?’

Bill’s brow twitched and he seemed uncomfortable suddenly.

‘Don’t hold anything back, Bill,’ Annie said. ‘I’ve a right to know.’

‘Well, he did ask me if something that Janet Dyer had told his old man was true,’ he said.

Annie felt the blood fill her cheeks. ‘And what was that?’

Bill gave her a sympathetic look. ‘Surely you can guess, love. It was the secret that years ago we all agreed to keep in the family. It seems you were the one who let it out by confiding in your old school friend.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

It was coming up to five o’clock and James and DS Stevens were about to leave the village hall. Outside, darkness had descended on Kirkby Abbey. It had also started to snow, and though it wasn’t yet heavy enough to cause problems, it was making members of the team a little anxious. Some were keen to call it a day so they could get home before the weather deteriorated further.

‘You can’t blame them,’ DS Stevens said to James. ‘Most have been here all day and they don’t want to be stuck here all night as well.’

James had some sympathy, which was why he’d already agreed to let the majority head off at seven. Most of the initial legwork had already been carried out, including the house-to-house, and the forensic sweep of Lorna Manning’s home would soon be wrapping up. A lot of what else had to be done could wait until tomorrow and would be determined by what leads needed to be followed up.