‘She went fucking crazy. It didn’t help that she was fucked. She screamed at me and called me all kinds of names. I tried to tell her it wasn’t true, but she picked up an empty wine bottle and threw it at me. I jumped out of the way and it smashed against the breakfast bar.’

His voice was trembling now as he struggled to speak and breathe at the same time.

‘And then her dad suddenly arrived back from Kendal,’ he continued. ‘He came storming into the house wondering what the hell was going on. Charlotte told him I’d cheated on her. Then her mum made things worse by telling him that Charlotte was bladdered. Charlotte screamed at her and called her a bitch. At this point Robert grabbed her arm and pushed her towards the stairs. He told her to go to her room and calm down.’

‘And did she?’

‘Well she went upstairs, but she didn’t calm down.’

‘And is that when you left?’

‘Not right then, no. I hoped I wouldn’t have to because I’d had a lot to drink and, like Charlotte, I’d popped some pills.’

‘So, what did you do?’

‘I just stood there waiting for Mary and Robert to lay into me. I think Mary was about to, but Robert interrupted her and asked us both if there was anyone in the cellar. It was a strange thing to say and Mary looked at him as though he was mad.’

‘Did he explain what he meant by that?’ James asked.

‘He said that before he came into the house, he saw shoeprints in the snow leading from the lane to the outside door to the cellar. But there were none coming the other way and the door was closed. He assumed it was because someone was in there but just as he was about to go and check he heard Charlotte scream and rushed indoors.’

James and Tanner shared a look. This was an unexpected revelation and James felt his heart bounce in his chest.

‘And were you aware of anyone being in the cellar?’ he asked.

Another shake of the head. ‘I wasn’t and neither was Mary.’

‘So, you didn’t notice any shoeprints in the snow when you arrived two hours earlier?’

‘No, but that was probably because we parked further away from the cellar door.’

‘What happened then? Did Robert go and investigate?’

‘He was going to, but Charlotte came flying down the stairs again. She was holding her dad’s shotgun, which I know he kept on top of the wardrobe in his bedroom. When she got to the bottom, she aimed it at me and told me to fuck off out of the house. She said that if I didn’t, she would blow my brains out. Her dad went ballistic and rushed towards her, but she pointed the gun at him and it stopped him dead in his tracks.’