‘Yes, that’s what he said.’ DI Wade’s tone made it sound as though she was bored, or had expected that response and didn’t really believe it.

‘So—’ Louisa leant forward ‘—what you’re thinking then is that you’ve no proof Melissa was even at my party?’

‘Well, it’s very odd that no one remembers seeing her, don’t you think?’

Yes, she did think it odd. Should she tell them there was at least a possibility she’d seen her? She couldn’t be sure enough, though. If she told them and caused the investigation to go in a different direction – the wrong one – she’d feel terrible.

‘Mrs Cullen?’ DS Mack coaxed.

‘Sorry, I was thinking.’ Louisa’s mind was scrambled. She didn’t know what to do for the best. The best for Oliver, the best for Melissa. The best for her.

‘You seem quite anxious.’ DS Mack was staring at Louisa’s mouth. She realised she was chewing on her thumbnail, gnawing at it like it was a raw carrot. She pulled it away from her lips and sat up straighter.

‘I am anxious. I don’t know what to think right now.’

‘About Oliver?’ DI Wade cut in.

Shit. Her behaviour was making them think she didn’t trust Oliver. She was going to land him in it in a minute. She had to pull herself together. Now, would telling these detectives that she might’ve seen Melissa be helpful to Oliver, or would it now look like she was trying to help cover something up? If she’d said immediately that she had a vague memory of seeing her, that would’ve been fine. But now, over a week later and after enough time had passed where she could’ve told them, it would look bad.

‘About it all, really. There were a lot of people there, and a fair few people didn’t know each other. They were busy with their own cliques, I suppose. You don’t notice everyone in a packed room, do you? And you said you’d spoken to almost everyone on the list, not all of them yet. There’s still a possibility one of those could help you. And Tiff could’ve missed people off the list.’

‘Yes, that’s true,’ DS Mack said. ‘But no one else came forward after the appeal. No one who wasn’t on the list.’

‘What about the bar workers? Didn’t any of them remember seeing her?’

‘We’ve interviewed all the staff. And no. Nothing.’

‘DS Mack, are you pinning your hopes on someone from my party being able to remember something significant? Because if that’s all there is to go on, I’m seriously worried for Melissa.’

‘It’s only one of our lines of inquiry, Mrs Cullen, don’t worry.’

‘Louisa. It’s Louisa.’