‘There’s no way Ethan would have gone after Rachel. We both knew what she’d seen was innocent, and she was overreacting,’ she said. ‘I don’t believe for a second that he would have attacked her, no matter what she was threatening, and I don’t understand why …’

The words dried on her lips and she closed her eyes, squeezing out a couple of tears, which rolled down her cheeks.

‘Would you like me to make you another coffee, Mrs Murphy?’ Abbott asked her. ‘It would be no trouble.’

Libby opened her eyes and gave a sharp shake of her head.

‘I just want you to go now,’ she said. ‘I need to be by myself for a while. If there’s something else you want to tell me, or if you’ve got more questions, then would you please get on with it?’

‘I completely understand how hard this must be for you, so we’ll be as quick as we can,’ James said. He cleared his throat before continuing. ‘Another reason for our visit was to inform you that we’ve managed to trace Rachel’s boyfriend, Carlo Salvi, and will be interviewing him later today. He’s still very much a suspect and if he does turn out to be Rachel’s killer you and your parents will be the first to know.’

He brow shifted upwards. ‘Is there anything you can you tell me about him?’

James told her what they knew and that he’d been planning to leave the country.

‘What we still don’t know is why he argued with your sister in the hotel and if he’s the person who killed her. But we will find out.

‘Speaking of arguments, it has come to our attention that your relationship with Greg has not always run smoothly. In fact, I’ve been told that you split up and got back together several times, and that you were going to end it for good just before the wedding but changed your mind after Greg’s father died.’

‘I’m guessing you got all that from my parents,’ she replied. ‘They’ve never been keen on Greg and they didn’t want me to marry him because they think he’s a control freak and a bully. But he’s not like that, or at least he isn’t with me. Of course, we fall out from time to time, but I love him and no way was I going to leave him while he was grieving for his dad. But now I almost wish I had called it off … because if I had, Rachel would still be alive.’

She broke down then and James felt a blast of guilt as he stood and put his notebook away.

‘We’ll leave it at that for now, Mrs Murphy,’ he said. ‘Would you like me to call your husband before we leave?’

‘No, just go,’ she sobbed. ‘And please don’t come back unless it’s to tell me that you’ve caught the person who murdered my sister.’

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

‘Well, that’s given us a lot more to think about, guv,’ Abbott said when they were back on the road and heading towards Windermere. ‘Do you reckon she spun us a lie about what really happened on the path?’