‘Niamh Buckley finally gave us what we need, sir. Turns out Andrew Buckley was Hollie’s father. Even now, I’m not sure that Hampton knows as Hollie only found out a week before she died. It’s hardly surprising so many people described her as being agitated. But it doesn’t explain why she went to the surgery that day and accused him of assaulting her. The chances are she’d found out about James’s – and obviously Buckley’s – involvement in the porn ring. Don’t forget, she took Niamh to Mason’s place.’

The DI frowns. ‘We don’t have proof of that.’

‘Not yet. But the evidence is stacking up against our doctor.’ I pause. ‘Poor Hollie … You can imagine how she must have felt when she discovered James wasn’t her father at all – and that Andrew Buckley was, which meant Dylan was her half-brother …’

The amount of damage one man’s selfish actions can cause is utterly devastating.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Elise

Over the days that follow, I discover the extent of what Niamh’s kept from me. Putting it together with what she still keeps to herself, I edge closer to the truth. Whether Andrew will ever admit to killing Hollie is another matter, but the weight of evidence against him, his proven violent behaviour and aggression, his treatment of Dylan, his possible involvement in both Kathryn and Stephanie’s deaths, and not least his determination to keep Hollie’s relationship to him a secret, all paint a clear picture.

Andrew’s arrest offers me a chance to reset my life. When Forensics finish in our house, Niamh and I go back to sort through what we’re taking with us, putting the rest in storage for Andrew until he’s released. Pitched from limbo into a process of rapid adjustment, I gradually come to terms with a failed marriage and a husband who’s a criminal.

But though there is evil in this world, there is also good. In an uncertain life, Chris Nelson is an unlikely guardian angel, offering us his farm cottage for as long as we want it and giving Niamh a place to stay while I have my surgery. It’s a breathing space, a gesture of kindness that I accept gratefully. In our own time, we’ll work out how to move on.

When Andrew is charged for his part in Phil Mason’s porn business, he’s jailed. But as far as Hollie’s death is concerned, the evidence is circumstantial and the investigation into her murder remains unsolved. When my divorce comes through, I’ll be leaving Andrew in the past, and by the time he gets out of prison, Niamh will be an adult and able to make her own decision as to whether she wants him in her life. But his part in mine is over.