‘It is. And you’re Miss Wilson, I take it.’

‘It’s Mrs Wilson, but no matter. I’m sorry I missed your call earlier. My husband and I are spending a few days at a hotel in Keswick and when we went for a walk, I forgot to take my phone. When I heard your voice message, I guessed it was about Rachel. I’ve been in tears since I heard about what’s happened to her. She was such a lovely girl and a hard worker. It just doesn’t seem possible that I’ll never see her again.’

Mrs Wilson’s voice had the rasp of a heavy smoker and James got the impression that she probably wasn’t a young woman.

‘I understand she worked in your café, Mrs Wilson,’ James said.

‘She did indeed. She was one of three young ladies who’ve been with me since we took it over several years ago. She served behind the counter, waited tables and helped with the cleaning. She’ll be greatly missed.’

‘When was she last in?’

‘That would be on Thursday. She had Friday off to prepare for her sister’s wedding.’

‘And how was she on that day?’

‘Same as always. Quiet, but pleasant. Got on with the job.’

‘How much do you know about what happened yesterday?’

‘I didn’t know anything until one of the other girls, Trish, phoned my husband because she couldn’t get through to me. We hurried back to the hotel we’re staying at until tomorrow and switched on the television.’

‘Then you’ll have heard that we’re trying to trace her boyfriend, a man named Carlo Salvi.’

‘Yes, I saw that, but I assumed you’d have spoken to him by now. Please don’t tell me you think he killed her.’

‘We don’t know who killed Rachel yet, Mrs Wilson,’ James said. ‘However, we do know that Mr Salvi was at the wedding with her and left before the police arrived. Unfortunately, we haven’t had an opportunity to speak to him yet.’

‘Well, I can’t believe he would have been responsible. He doesn’t strike me as a murderer.’

‘You know him then?’

‘Of course. He’s been a regular customer in the café for some time. That’s how they met. He comes in a couple of times a week for coffee and sometimes a sandwich.’

‘And when did they start seeing each other?’

‘A few months ago. She would always chat to him and made it obvious that she fancied him and he eventually asked her out. She told me she really liked him but that she didn’t want to get too involved because she knew he was going to return to Italy. In fact, he was due to go this week. It’s the end of his work contract or something.’

James moved swiftly into the kitchen to make use of the notebook and pen he knew was on one of the worktops.

‘Can you tell me all you know about Mr Salvi?’ he asked her.

‘I only know what Rachel told me about him,’ she said. ‘I rarely engaged him in conversation and most of the time he sat quietly by himself at one of the window tables reading the paper or a book. He never stayed long because he had to get back to work.’