“Yes.”

“You’re right, it is none of your business. I thought I could make it work with her, but I have too much baggage. I do have something to tell you, though. I’ve been trying to hold it in or time it properly, but I’ve realized that there’s no perfect time or way.”

My heart thuds.

“I’m all ears.”

“There really is no easy way to say this, but, Marie, Nina was a murderer.”

Thirty-Seven

“What on earth makes you say such a thing? Who, exactly, did Nina murder?”

“Because it’s true.” He doesn’t answer my second question.

“Why do you think Nina was a murderer?”

“She told me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Not in so many words. But who goes looking for the relatives of some guy they hardly knew when you’ve had a terminal medical diagnosis? Something didn’t add up. She spun some story, but failed to convince me.”

“What was the story?”

“That she was on holiday with you and Camilla and a bloke went missing. She felt bad for his family and it was something that had always preyed on her mind.”

“Yes, that’s true. But it doesn’t sound like much to me. What good would it do raking over it? Think of her children.”

“That’s what she said to me when I started probing.”

“Well, then. You definitely told me in your office that you did some work for her but hadn’t reached a conclusion.”

“I wasn’t sure of all my facts then, hadn’t quite put everything together.”

“As you know, I was on that holiday as well, and believe me, it was a tragic accident. If that wasn’t the case, it would’ve been investigated more thoroughly at the time.”

He falls silent.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited to have a family? I love Felix and Emily as if they were my own. I promised Nina I’d look out for them.”

The look he gives me isn’t pleasant. “I thought you’d be on my side. But it seems you’ve known all along and worst of all, you seem to find it acceptable. I had you down as a person of integrity.”

“We do need to talk. There’s a lot I can maybe help you understand. Charlie, the man whose relatives she was looking for, was my boyfriend. I loved him. She was trying to help me.”

“I know what I know,” he says. “I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but then Camilla filled in the blanks. Inadvertently, admittedly. There was just too much that was a coincidence. She said that the two of you had fallen out over a man. I was curious as to why she showed up at your house that time and joined the book group. I could sense a story straightaway. Maybe I should’ve pursued a career in journalism—I have a sixth sense when people are trying to hide things. I did consider it before I became a PI.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you targeted Camilla deliberately?”