‘Why did you have to kill her?’ Steph fumbled with her phone. She wanted to hear Pru say it herself.

‘She had an affair. She cheated on Harry,’ spat Pru. ‘But she couldn’t be content with just having an affair with anyone, it had to be his own brother – Dominic.’

‘Why didn’t you just tell her to stop?’

‘It was too late. She was going to leave Harry. She was blackmailing Dominic and Owen. She would have destroyed all of my sons, and not only that, it would have been the end of Conmere. I wasn’t going to let that happen. With her out of the way, my sons would be free and the resort would be saved.’

‘Did Harry know?’ She felt a compassion for Harry that she hadn’t been expecting. ‘Did he know she was cheating on him?’

‘He suspected. He even confronted Dominic, but he denied it. Owen was there at the time and he told me about it. That’s when I knew I had to do something.’

‘Couldn’t you have paid her off?’ Steph sensed the confession was coming to a close. She ripped off the heavy waxed jacket and pushed it under the seat, before dropping her phone on top of it.

‘And have her blabber-mouthing about it to everyone? No. Absolutely not. Either that or she would have just kept coming back for more and more money. She couldn’t be trusted. The same way I can’t have you telling your story.’

‘What makes you think I know anything?’

‘I’m not stupid. I know who your mother is. I know everything that goes on around here. I make it my business and I know you’ve been poking your nose in where it doesn’t belong. I tried to warn you. Tried to warn your mother and Elizabeth’s mother, but no, you wouldn’t take the hint, would you?’

‘You? It was you in the car and you with the brick?’

Pru rolled her eyes skyward. ‘Ten out of ten. And now it’s your turn to take a swim.’

‘You won’t get away with this.’

‘Oh, goodness, can’t you think of anything original to say?’ scorned Pru. ‘You’re going in the water. So am I, but I get to swim back to shore and put on my clothes.’ She tapped the holdall. ‘My dry bag will ensure my clothes are still dry and then I can raise the alarm that you’ve fallen in the water trying to get the boats for me. I’ll be distraught, of course. I won’t be able to imagine another death in the lake. No one will suspect me of being out there. I’m in my sixties, I’m dying of cancer, I can’t swim that far.’

Steph gulped. ‘You’re dying of cancer?’