The nub of it was that five years previously, Guy had put almost every penny he owned into a high-risk investment fund that had been delivering huge returns. He had also invested a sum of money belonging to his father-in-law. The fund had tanked. Guy had been at risk of losing everything, and his wife’s father had too. The holiday park falling into Guy’s hands when it did must have seemed an absolute godsend. No wonder he’d been so keen to maximise the value of the land and then sell it at the first opportunity. No wonder he had been willing to risk the past being uncovered; it was a gamble worth taking because the stakes were so high.

This changed everything.

Will forgot the agonising over Alice’s mother. Instead his heart began to pound with the thrill of the chase. He had Guy cornered at last!

He replied to the message:

Thank you, Em, that’s exactly what I needed.

He thought for a moment, then added:

Here’s a tip for you: keep investigating Guy deV. He was obsessed with Alice Lang. There’s a photo of them together in his parents’ house. He was the phantom champagne drinker. The story’s your exclusive if you can make it stand up.

Two minutes later another text came back:

You sure about the champagne?

100 per cent.

Can you get hold of that photo for me?

I’ll try.

38

Marnie signalled Sit! Tessy, quivering with anticipation from her whiskers to the end of her tail, lowered herself slowly until her bottom made contact with the wet grass. She stared intensely at Marnie with her clever, brown eyes. Good girl! Marnie used her thumbnail to prise a tiny piece of meat from one of the cocktail sausages in her pocket – a treat reserved for agility competitions – and offered it to the dog, who licked it from the end of her finger.

A cold rain was falling. Marnie’s head was wet and the water that puddled amongst the grass on the competition field was beginning to soak into her trainers. Dawn had never quite broken and the sky was bruise coloured and sullen. The cold was haunting Marnie. Alice was haunting her. Alice with Will’s necklace fastened around her neck, the silver shining brightly against the soft tan of her skin; the little hairs on Alice’s arms, the red, sequined dress sparkling in the early evening sunlight. Marnie, going back to the caravan to tell Alice that she couldn’t bring the tin because the tide had come in, hearing Alice shouting inside: ‘No! No! You’re not listening to me!’ Will shouting back: ‘Well, tell me the truth then!’

And later, days later, Will coming to Marnie’s bedroom, telling her that she mustn’t tell anyone about him and Alice because if she did Alice would be in trouble.