An accomplice. That was one thing Rosalind was certain was right – whoever committed these murders had help. They’d have to.

‘How long does it take to sugar a flower, anyway?’ Posy asked.

‘No idea,’ Caro admitted. ‘But that’s a good point. If this had been planned for ages, wouldn’t they have done it ahead of time? I mean, Isobel and Hugh both had access to the Murder Spiral and the script before the Saturday.’

Posy shook her head. ‘Libby only added the flowers in the last draft.’

‘Still, it could have been someone else. Someone who only got to Aldermere this weekend,’ Caro said, thoughtfully. ‘Except why would they care about Clementine being Lettice’s granddaughter?’

The conversation pinged back and forth between the two of them, and Rosalind didn’t even try to keep up.

‘Maybe they didn’t. Maybe the person who killed Marcus was doing it because of the blackmail, and it’s just coincidence that they both died this weekend.’

‘“No such thing as coincidence when it comes to murder”,’ Caro quoted, and Posy rolled her eyes.

‘What do you think, Rosalind?’ Posy asked.

I wish I’d never come to Aldermere this weekend.

Was that true, though? In some ways, it felt like she was seeing clearly for the first time in her adult life. The first time since she’d met Hugh, and been swept up in the glamour of his world. Of being Dahlia Lively.

She’d been orbiting this place for decades. It was time to step out of its shadows at last. When she left Aldermere later again, it would be for the last time. This part of her life was finally, belatedly, over.

Once this murder was solved.

It was starting to come together in her mind. All the little things that people had said, or that she’d observed, over the course of the weekend that meant nothing at the time were starting to make sense. Libby had filled in many of the blanks, but not enough to explain everything. Although when she put it together, a picture was forming of how events had really gone over the last few days.

It wasn’t a picture she liked.

‘I think we’re still missing something.’ Something that would tell her for sure if she was right. Rosalind pulled the Hugh doll from her pocket. ‘I found this in the dollhouse this afternoon, lying dead in its attic. And the poison bottle is missing, again.’

‘You think the murderer is going to try to kill Hugh?’ Caro asked. ‘Why?’

‘For money. And for love. And maybe for power, too.’ Rosalind gave a small smile, that felt like it twisted her lips. ‘Why else?’

‘Do you know who it is?’ Posy asked.

‘I hope not.’ She sighed. ‘In fact, I really hope I’m wrong. But if I’m not …’

‘We need to tell Larch,’ Caro said. ‘Whoever you think did it, we need to tell the police.’