‘They were due to go on holiday shortly,’ Shelly said. ‘Then last night, out of the blue, Nick announced he’d cancelled the whole thing. Tara was very upset about it.’

This was news to Rachel. Between herself and Ade, they had spoken to all the guests and staff who’d been at the villa yesterday evening. Not one of them had mentioned anything about a row between Nick and Tara. The only row Rachel knew about was the one later that evening between Nick and Adam.

‘Did Nick seem drunk to you by the time you left?’ Rachel asked.

‘Definitely,’ Shelly said. ‘Drunk and nasty. A tired old pattern that we’d all seen too often over the past few years. I think because Gary was his friend, he’s found it harder to deal with what happened than some of the others. I mean, we all struggled to come to terms with what Gary had done. But as Gary’s friend, it was harder for Nick.’

‘How did Gary get away with it?’ Rachel asked. ‘Surely his co-pilot would have smelled the booze on his breath?’

‘None of us smelled anything,’ Shelly said. ‘And he didn’t seem drunk. Not that we were looking for it. Gary was a professional. I don’t think I’d ever seen him drink alcohol, even at social events. I’ve no idea what happened to make him drink that day. It was completely out of character.

‘The thing I found most difficult to accept is that he should never have been flying that plane. He was on holiday with his friends. He only had his uniform with him because his last rostered duty was being on standby. When he wasn’t required to fly, he joined his pals on the flight to Crete. On the flight back, the captain who was due to fly the plane fell ill with food poisoning; the airline asked Gary to step in at the last moment. Normally, he’d have met the first officer at the airport crew room, but because it was all so last-minute, they didn’t meet up until they were both on the aircraft.’

‘It must have made it even harder for you all to come to terms with what happened afterwards,’ Rachel said, ‘knowing how close you’d come to avoiding the disaster.’

‘Like I said, Nick found it harder than some of the others. It was sad, really. He’d made this big show of inviting his brother, said he wanted Simon with him to mark this important landmark in Nick’s life. But Nick got so drunk that poor Simon went to bed soon after dinner. It was clear he found Nick’s behaviour embarrassing.’

This pretty much matched Simon Gilbert’s own account when Rachel had spoken to him earlier.

‘Sounds as if Nick upset quite a few people last night,’ Rachel said.