Harry didn’t bother to answer; his only concern was for Steph. He went to grab his coat from the hook on the back of the door, but it was missing. Instead, he picked up a lightweight waterproof jacket and hurried after Wendy, who was already storming her way out of the building. His stomach churned with anxiety and his heart thumped with fear. Steph was with his mother and they were heading for the lake. He clenched his hands as panic began to surge through him. He couldn’t let history repeat itself. He couldn’t let anything happen to Steph. He had to get to the lake and fast. He stopped, spun round and grabbed a key from the reception-desk drawer.

‘Wait! Wendy, just wait a minute,’ said Harry as he caught up with the former DCI. ‘I’ll get one of the resort buggies. We can cover the grounds quicker. This way – they’re behind the pool house.’

‘Hurry, we need to find her, and quickly.’

They raced round to the pool house and Harry used the key to start the electric buggy, which was basically a quad bike but with a bench seat and a steering wheel. ‘Ready?’

Harry steered the buggy round the pool house and along the path which filtered through the trees, past the first tier of guest lodges and then into the denser woodland. ‘I know what happened,’ he shouted above the noise of the engine. ‘And I know Steph must have worked it out.’

‘I spoke to her this morning on the phone. She said she’d discovered the cocaine your brother has been dealing. He’s got a haul of it hidden away in the boathouse.’

‘What?’ Harry turned his head to look at Wendy. She was deadly serious.

‘Look out!’ yelled Wendy.

Harry yanked the steering wheel to the left, narrowly missing a tree. ‘A drugs haul?’

‘Yes. Just keep your eyes on the track,’ said Wendy, raising her voice to be heard. ‘Where are you going exactly?’

‘Down to the lake. My mother likes to go there. Steph likes the lake. It’s where …’ His words trailed off. He didn’t need to tell Wendy it was where Elizabeth had drowned.

He could feel Wendy’s gaze on him and he took a sideways look at her. He couldn’t read her expression, but in just a quick glimpse he had seen guilt and fear. ‘You know as well, don’t you?’ he said. The buggy jolted violently to one side as it hit a root but stayed upright and he steered it along the woodland path, opening up the accelerator.

‘Elizabeth found out too many secrets about your family and she was holding them all to ransom,’ said Wendy, eventually. ‘She made enemies of just about everyone and she knew it. She was playing a dangerous game.’