Bella said something Rachel couldn’t hear.

‘Detective Inspector Lewis,’ Theresa said, reading the information on Rachel’s card. Then, a few seconds later, ‘Okay, thanks Bella. I’ll let them know.’

She put the phone down and smiled at Rachel.

‘She’ll be here in a few minutes.’

While they waited, Rachel walked across to the TV screen on the wall above the seating area. A series of promotional videos were playing, all highlighting the different areas of Max-Roysten’s work. Image after image of smiling men and women, with lab coats and improbably white teeth, extolling the virtues of the important work they were doing. After a few seconds, Rachel started to feel nauseated so she looked away.

‘If Nick was cross because Simon owed him money,’ she said to Ade, ‘why did he insist on having Simon and Bella with him last weekend?’

‘Good question,’ Ade said. ‘Here’s Bella now. Maybe she can tell us.’

‘Hello,’ Bella said, giving a tentative smile as she approached the two detectives. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘We wanted to ask you a few questions,’ Rachel said. ‘Is there somewhere we can speak in private?’

‘We could go outside,’ Bella said. ‘There’s a grassed area around the side with some seating and lovely views. Would that do?’

‘Sounds great,’ Rachel said. ‘Lead the way.’

It was another warm day, and Rachel was glad Bella had suggested coming outside. They sat at a wooden table situated on a hill with views across rolling green fields to the English Channel. With the sun reflecting on its surface, the sea sparkled and shimmered as if someone had scattered thousands of diamonds across it.

‘It’s lovely here,’ Ade said, smiling at Bella as if they were two friends enjoying a spot of sunshine.

‘Isn’t it?’ Bella returned Ade’s smile, visibly relaxing. ‘I come out here to have my lunch every day. Even in winter. Unless it’s raining, obviously.’

‘Obviously,’ Ade said.

‘I’ve been expecting you to get in touch,’ Bella said, looking at Rachel. ‘Simon said you’d been asking about me when you spoke to him the other night. How can I help?’

‘When we spoke to you on Sunday,’ Rachel said, ‘you never mentioned you were Gary Wakefield’s widow.’

‘We were divorced when the plane crashed,’ Bella said. ‘So I’m not officially his widow.’

‘I’m sure that didn’t make what happened any easier to bear,’ Ade said.

‘Of course not,’ Bella said. ‘I was devastated when I heard about the crash. But I don’t understand how Gary has got anything to do with what happened to Nick. Am I missing something?’

‘It must have been difficult,’ Ade said, ‘watching everyone else get their share of the compensation money, knowing you weren’t entitled to any of it.’