‘We’ve got the pair he was wearing today so they can be handed over to forensics when we’re back.’

He told Stevens to hang on there for the time being and then arranged for a uniformed officer to be sent to the hospital to keep them posted on any changes to Nash’s condition overnight.

After coming off the phone, he said to Abbott, ‘What do you think the chances are we can wrap this case up before the start of the new year?’

Abbott raised her brow. ‘Well, I reckon the odds have shortened in the past couple of hours, guv. But it really depends what our new prime suspect tells us when we eventually get to talk to him.’

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

The news about William Nash’s unfinished suicide note had generated a high level of excitement among the team. They hung onto James’s every word as he described the car chase and its dramatic end.

‘I’m hoping we’ll be able to talk to him tomorrow,’ he said, before going on to list the man’s injuries.

‘Sounds to me like he’s lucky to be alive,’ DCI Tanner said. ‘Although I don’t suppose he’ll see it that way when he comes around.’

James then told them about the photos of Charlotte on Nash’s bedroom wall.

‘Some of them were taken from a distance and clearly without her knowledge since they broke up over a year ago,’ he said. ‘We can assume he’s been stalking her and spying through the wall that was installed between the farm’s living area and the cellar. His fingerprints testify to that. But we can’t assume his obsession with Charlotte became a motive for murder. And if we’re to believe what he wrote in the note then he didn’t kill her.’

‘So, we can’t rule out any of the other suspects just yet,’ Tanner said.

James shook his head. ‘We need to keep hold of them for now. If necessary, we’ll apply for custodial extensions.’

‘That shouldn’t be a problem,’ Tanner said. ‘Leave it with me.’

‘Guv, the police in Spain have contacted Nash’s parents at their home on the Costa Blanca. They’re making arrangements to fly to the UK as soon as possible and they’ve been given a number to ring at the hospital,’ DC Patterson said. ‘They’ve been told that their son was involved in a car accident, but not that he tried to kill himself. And the father confirmed that they hadn’t seen William since July and had been planning to come here for Christmas but were forced to change their plans.’