‘It can’t be true,’ Judith heard Danny say.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Tanika said. ‘We’ll have a family liaison officer here as soon as we can.’

‘But what am I going to do now?’

‘I know this is hard, Mr Curtis, but I need to ask you a couple of questions. I’ll be as quick as I can.’ Judith saw Danny nod. ‘Starting with, can I ask what you were doing in Nottingham last night?’

‘Last night?’

‘We need to get a sense of your movements.’

‘I’m a coach. Of the GB junior canoeing team. They’re based outside Nottingham.’

‘It was a planned trip then?’

‘When we’re not in competition, training’s every Tuesday night.’

‘So you go to Nottingham every week?’

‘That’s right. I go up in the afternoon. We train that evening, I spend the night at the centre, and I come back Wednesday morning.’

‘So if anyone knew you well, they’d know you’d be away from the family home between Tuesday afternoon and late Wednesday morning every week.’

‘I suppose so.’

‘Can you think of anyone who might have wished your wife harm?’

‘No. It’s impossible. Everyone liked Liz.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m the one who’s grumpy. Who shouts and is difficult. Liz just gets on with things. You know? Never loses her temper. She didn’t have a bad bone in her body.’

As Danny said this, Judith couldn’t help thinking about Liz’s dog Crumble. If Suzie’s story were true, then Danny had wildly misjudged his wife.

‘Then can I ask,’ Tanika continued, ‘how had things been between you and Mrs Curtis?’

‘I’m sorry?’ Danny replied.

‘It would be good to get a sense of your relationship.’

‘Well, I started going out with Liz when I was twenty. We’ve been together ever since. She’s the only person I’ve ever seriously dated.’

‘And you were getting on?’

‘Yes. I love her. I’ve always loved her. Why are you asking?’

‘Is it possible she didn’t feel the same towards you as you did towards her?’

‘Are you asking, was she playing around? You’ve got to be kidding me. We’ve been working down here all the hours God gave. Trying to get the place back on its feet since the floods. Working seven days a week. Painting, mending, rebuilding.’

‘Okay. Then can I ask, did she perhaps have any financial problems?’

Danny gave a bitter laugh.

‘Ha! We were all financial problems. We’re broke. That’s the problem.’

‘She was in debt?’

‘Not personally. I don’t think so. We never joined our bank accounts, so I can’t tell you exactly what her financial situation was, but we’ve been living on thin air for years. Turns out, these days, if you want to follow your dream of working on the river, you’d be wise to put all your buildings on stilts.’