Two Years Earlier,
Conmere, 23 August, 2.30 p.m.

Elizabeth shuddered as the front door to the lodge slammed shut. She was sitting on the patio at the rear of the house, making the most of the warm afternoon and spoiling herself with a vodka, lime and lemonade.

‘Elizabeth!’ Harry called as he stomped his way through the house.

Elizabeth sighed and looked up over her sunglasses at her husband, now standing in the doorway. ‘You don’t have to shout,’ she said. ‘I’m not deaf.’ She took another look at him and with a sinking sensation realised Harry was in a foul mood – it practically oozed from every feature on his face and every tense and tight muscle in his body.

‘We need to talk,’ he said.

Elizabeth pushed her glasses up on her head and took a long sip of her drink through the straw, before placing the glass on the table and turning to look at him again. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘The name Cameron mean anything to you?’

Elizabeth gave what she hoped was her best puzzled expression while wondering how the hell Harry had found out about Cameron. ‘I don’t think it does, no,’ she said after a moment’s thought.

‘Bollocks.’

She raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Pardon? For a moment there I thought you swore at me.’

‘Cut the wounded-lady crap,’ said Harry. He paced back into the living room and Elizabeth could hear him pouring a drink. She got up and followed him into the lodge, watching him down the whisky in one and then pour himself another. He looked back at her defiantly as he downed the second shot in the same fashion.

‘I take it that’s not the first drink of the day,’ she said, noting his eyes weren’t quite focusing as sharply as normal.

‘What of it?’ With a heavy hand, he plonked the glass back on the sideboard. ‘Not every day you find out your wife’s been shagging the local barman.’

‘I take exception to that,’ snapped Elizabeth. ‘I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but it’s untrue.’

‘Not according to half the pub.’

‘What exactly does that mean?’

‘Just admit it, you’re having an affair.’

‘Why would I admit something that’s not true?’ Technically speaking, it wasn’t true. Yes, she’d had a little thing going on with Cameron, but that had finished weeks ago. Harry was speaking as if it was still happening. ‘Who’s been winding you up with idle gossip?’

Harry glared at her intently before speaking. ‘Someone said something to Dominic.’

Elizabeth gave a burst of laughter. ‘Dominic. Seriously? You’re listening to village gossip via your brother? That’s insane. I thought you were above all that.’

‘He seemed to take it seriously.’