It had never been her intention to hook Nick, but he was a catch she couldn’t ignore. At first, he was simply a means to solve her immediate financial difficulties, but the more he talked about involving her in his business, the more she wanted from him. There would be risks, but nothing that couldn’t be managed. She would, if she had to, extricate herself from the marriage and take the business with her. Except Nick hadn’t been offering her marriage, or a burgeoning wallet. He had humiliated her, and she couldn’t forgive that.

Looking down at the chopping board, pure anger pumped through Faith’s veins, but she was in control. She left the knife and picked up her iPad, logging back into her account before handing it to Nick.

‘What am I looking at?’

‘Call it payback.’

The confusion on Nick’s face as he looked at the money transfer was imprinted on Faith’s memory and had been the most compelling element of her account to the police. She caught herself before the memory could bring a smile to her lips. ‘I told Nick the game was over and he admitted everything. He laughed at me, at all of us to be honest. I wasn’t the only one he’d taken in.’

‘Did he just admit to making up the affair, or was it the other stuff too?’ asked Tara.

‘I told her what he said,’ she replied, narrowing her eyes at April who stood mutely beside her friend. ‘He liked making money off dead people, and when he picked up the knife, I thought he was going to kill me. Why are you doing this to me? Would you rather I’d been the one lying in that spot April keeps staring at?’

‘Just to be clear,’ Tara said. ‘You’re saying Nick admitted he’d raised money in Erin’s name for his own benefit.’

‘Why is this such a shock when it was you two who passed on the information in the first place?’ Faith asked, but the tone of Tara’s voice was getting to her. Something was off.

‘I’ve spoken to Nick’s sister again,’ Tara said. ‘As you can imagine, Olivia’s distraught. She told me that everything she’d said that night was wrong. She’d been angry with Nick for not telling her the real reason he’d lost his job, but she spoke to him just before he died. He was adamant that he never had any intention of keeping the money he raised, and I’m surprised he didn’t tell you that.’

‘And you’re accepting the word of his sister? Seriously, Tara. Of course she’d claim his innocence. Like you say, the poor woman’s distraught.’