She shook her head slowly, thinking back to that morning. ‘No, I didn’t. I had slowed to a walk and was thinking about turning to go back to the hotel when I saw him.’

‘Okay,’ he said, looking down at his notebook. ‘Then Pleasant said hello, you said the same and he asked the time. Is that it?’

‘Yes.’ She had been over this so often. There were few words spoken between them during that first encounter. Her indrawn breath was sudden and loud. Eyes wide, she stared across the table. ‘He asked me the time.’

Fanshawe waited.

‘After I sat beside him, he pointed to where he’d seen a kingfisher.’ She met the inspector’s eyes. ‘He was wearing a watch. It didn’t register with me then, but now…’

‘Pleasant was waiting for you specifically.’ He nodded as if it was what he’d surmised. ‘And you still maintain that nothing happened between you?’

‘Nothing.’ Molly’s hair had fallen forward, she brushed it back behind her ears. ‘I was carried away by the romance of it all. It was like something from a movie, you know.’ She avoided looking at Carstairs, guessing he’d find what she said amusing, maybe even pathetic. ‘Had he wanted more, that second morning, I think I might have been tempted. For a moment, I felt young and desirable but it wasn’t what he wanted from me.’

‘Then what was?’ Fanshawe said, a frown appearing between his eyes. ‘You mentioned that you thought he’d gone to your house with the intention of blackmailing you. Are you very wealthy, Mrs Chatwell? If he had succeeded, how much could he have hoped to achieve?’

Molly had made an error of judgement; would she have paid up to stop Jack finding out? She remembered his stricken face, his anger. Yes, she’d have paid anything to prevent that. ‘We’re not wealthy but I suppose I could have got my hands on twenty thousand,’ she said quietly.

Fanshawe tapped his thumbs together again and his frown deepened. ‘I doubt he’d have settled for that. He knew where you lived, he’d know there was more.’

‘But how did he know where I lived?’ Her voice cracked.

‘That’s something we’ll be trying to find out,’ he said, taking the photograph and slipping it back into the file.