James nodded. ‘I think it’s entirely possible, yes. Don’t forget she told us at first that the last time she spoke to her sister was at the bar. But then the encounter on the garden path came to light and her excuse was that she forgot about it. I reckon we need to up our game in respect of both her and Ethan Prescott, but especially Prescott. Perhaps Rachel didn’t jump to the wrong conclusion. If so, it’s important we get to the truth as quickly as possible.’

‘They do have history, guv, so maybe it was just a cuddle for old times’ sake.’

‘That’s quite possible, I suppose. After all, they did remain friends after splitting up, by all accounts. I wonder if she’s on the phone to Prescott now telling him that we’ve been to see her and know about the message?’

‘If she is, then he’ll probably be expecting us to drop by. But we should do more than just talk to him. Can we call the office and get someone to secure a warrant so that we can take his phone? That should tell us what, if anything, he’s been up to. And we have just cause to be suspicious as we now know that he had a reason to go and look for Rachel. What we don’t know is if he found her on the jetty and pleaded with her not to tell anyone what she’d seen. As she was bladdered, it likely wouldn’t have taken much for things to turn ugly.’

While Abbott made the call, James focused on driving the seven miles to Windermere along a more or less straight road. Conditions were still unfavourable, but it wasn’t snowing and the day was brighter now that there were fewer clouds.

When Abbott came off the phone, she said, ‘The warrant’s being chased and it’ll be dealt with as a matter of urgency. Meanwhile, what are your thoughts on Mark Slade?’

‘He stays in the frame for now,’ James said. ‘His hot temper is a factor we can’t ignore. It obviously doesn’t take much to set him off and we know he was in the hotel garden not long before Rachel was attacked.’

‘And yet Libby seems pretty sure that it wasn’t him who killed her.’

‘Maybe Greg convinced her of that. Although, it was a good point she made about how he seemed perfectly normal during the meal and didn’t act as though he’d just committed a murder.’

‘He’d have had no problem doing that if he’s a raving psychopath,’ Abbott pointed out.

‘That’s true,’ James said. ‘But I keep coming back to the circumstances that led up to the attack, and the crime scene itself. I’m sure that it wasn’t a premeditated murder as there’s no evidence of prior intent.’

‘And that’s why we have so many suspects, guv,’ Abbott said. ‘It could literally have been anyone who attended the wedding.’

The town of Windermere lay about half a mile east of the lake and James made a point of going to Ethan Prescott’s gift shop in the centre first.