When she didn’t respond, he turned to go back into the house.

‘I would rather you didn’t go inside, Mr Slade,’ James said. ‘It’s probably best if you go now and if you’ve left anything behind, I can get it for you.’

Slade contrived a weak smile and shrugged his shoulders. ‘No, that’s fine. I’ll be on my way. The last thing I want is for you to think any less of me than you already do.’

Without another word, he strode towards a silver BMW that was parked next to a grey Range Rover on the forecourt.

‘It’s not the first time I’ve come across Mark Slade,’ Carver said as he stepped up beside James. ‘I was the court reporter when he pleaded guilty to breaking his girlfriend’s nose at their flat in Keswick. And I read about another case where he smashed a woman’s windscreen with a golf club. The man is a nasty piece of work and I had no idea that he was Greg Murphy’s friend.’

‘He owns the golf club where Mr Murphy is a member,’ James said. ‘And he was best man at the couple’s wedding.’

‘I see. I suppose that’s his excuse for losing it the way he just did. He was completely over the top, and he gave Elena a real fright.’

‘It could have been a lot worse.’

‘You’re right about that. And I’m bloody glad that you turned up when you did because I can’t remember the last time that I had a fight, and I’m no match for the crazy bastard.’

James grinned. ‘Is the camera broken?’

‘Thankfully, no. And don’t worry. We won’t be using the picture or mentioning this little incident in the paper.’

They both watched Slade pull off the forecourt and onto the driveway.

‘Before we go, is there anything new with the case?’ Carver asked.

James nodded. ‘I owe you one so I can tell you that this morning we tracked down Rachel Elliott’s boyfriend, Carlo Salvi. He was at Heathrow airport waiting to fly to Italy. He’s being brought back here now so that we can question him later today.’

‘And is he still your prime suspect?’

‘He is.’

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

After watching Carver and Elena drive away in the Range Rover, James took a moment to pull his thoughts together before going into the house.

He’d come here to speak to Libby about the WhatsApp message she’d received from her sister and had worked out in his head how he was going to approach the interview, but the ruckus between Slade and Carver had thrown up more disturbing questions.

Did Slade’s behaviour suggest that the anger management course he was ordered to attend by the court had done little to help him control his fiery temper? And if so, then surely that gave further credence to Belinda Travers’s claim that he threatened to slap her in the hotel garden.

James also wondered if anything was to be made of the fact that Slade had been alone in the house with Libby when Carver arrived. Was it true that he had simply dropped by to see how the couple were coping? Or did he know beforehand that Greg was out and he decided to come here because, for whatever reason, he’d wanted to see Libby by herself? These were matters that potentially complicated an already complex case.