The image was clear, her features unmistakable. She had shoulder-length, wavy, dark hair, very dark-brown eyes and a full figure. The Andrea in the picture was an attractive, self-confident, mature and overtly sexual woman. Max could see why this man had been besotted with her. ‘This is exactly what we need, Mr Becker. Thank you. Now, did you have contact with her during your divorce proceedings?’

‘It was conducted entirely through our solicitors, Detective. I never knew where she was. I did hear that she hadn’t stayed long with the man she went off with. No matter how hard I tried, I could not discover her whereabouts. No one had seen her — or if they had, they weren’t telling me. She still had some very loyal friends.’

‘Any names, sir? If one of her friends knows where she is, it would help us enormously.’

‘Well, if she’s still living around here, you could try a woman called Lexi Freeman. She used to work in a health food shop in town, the one near the market square. She adored Andrea. If anyone knows where she is, it’d be Lexi.’

‘We’ll check her out,’ said Charlie. ‘Thank you.’

‘Mr Becker, is there anything you can tell us about Andrea that might explain her behaviour?’ Max frowned. ‘It looks to me — us — that she needed people to like her and think her special. And she would turn on anyone who failed to respond.’

‘Nicely put, Detective. Fundamentally, Andrea was a narcissist. I hadn’t been aware of her true nature until after we were married. I do know that she had been rejected as a child and had a deep-seated inferiority complex. But it’s my belief that her controlling nature was in her genes. She was aware of this dark side and tried to cover it up with “good works.”’

‘But she couldn’t always hide that dark side,’ said Max.

‘She could not. She could be vicious, and she used people.’ Becker shook his head. ‘I don’t know why I wasn’t the one to make the move. I should have done it years ago. But despite what I learned about Andrea, I still loved her. More fool me.’

‘And Nan Cutler?’ asked Charlie.

‘Oh my! That woman saw through her all right! And she wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion. But she was no match for Andrea. My ex-wife was a class act at turning the tables on people who threatened to expose her for what she was. She practically made that poor woman a pariah.’

‘And now she’s dead,’ said Charlie softly.

‘You think that’s connected to Andrea?’ Becker asked. ‘Is her death what this is all about?’