‘How about this?’ she said. ‘I’ll ask Ade here to take you back to your room so you two can have a proper chat. You can tell Ade everything you know, including how long you and Nick have been seeing each other and anything else you think might be relevant.’

‘Good idea.’ Ade stood up, smiling at Tara. ‘And while we’re there, maybe you could tell me how I can find Nick’s brother as well.’

‘Simon?’ Tara said. ‘He doesn’t know anything. He went to bed straight after dinner. None of us saw him for the rest of the night.’

‘I’d still like to speak to him,’ Ade said, as the two women left the room. ‘His wife too. But let’s get you back to your room first, shall we?’

Once Ade and Tara were gone, Rachel went to the door and looked out. There was a woman sitting on a chair that, presumably, had been placed there by Marcus Chevalier. No detail too small for the meticulous manager.

‘Clodagh?’

The woman looked up and Rachel was instantly transported back to her early twenties. She’d had the mother of all crushes on Vivienne Kinsella, the sassy Irish actress with the volatile personality and incredible screen presence. Marcus Chevalier was right: Clodagh looked remarkably like her dead sister.

‘Detective Inspector Rachel Lewis. Do you want to come in?’

She held the door open, trying to maintain an air of professionalism when all she really wanted to do was gush.

‘Please.’ Rachel gestured in the direction of the table. ‘Take a seat.’

She remembered reading a number of newspaper articles about Clodagh. The press had zoomed in on her relentlessly in the weeks and months following the crash. Clodagh’s personal life made her more interesting than some of the other survivors. Because Clodagh hadn’t just lost her sister. Four years before the plane crash both her parents had died as well. In a strange twist of fate, Clodagh’s mother and father had both succumbed to different forms of cancer that had killed them within six months of each other. And now this. Rachel felt a pang of compassion for the haunted-looking young woman sitting opposite her.

‘Do you know how he died yet?’ Clodagh asked as she sat down.

‘It’s too early for that,’ Rachel said. ‘I realise this must be very difficult, but do you think you could talk me through exactly what happened this morning when you found Nick’s body?’

‘I went out for a walk,’ Clodagh said. ‘And he was just lying there. What else do you need to know?’

She looked tense, on edge. Twisting her hands together in her lap, chewing the inside of her cheek as she waited for Rachel to answer her questions.

‘Can you remember what time this was?’