‘So, what is it you want to ask me?’ Ethan said as he placed his phone and gloves on the table in front of him.

‘First, I’d like to know if you’ve heard from Mrs Murphy this morning,’ James replied.

Ethan frowned, but then smiled. ‘Oh, I see. You mean Libby. I haven’t got used to her being referred to as “Mrs Murphy”. And the answer is no, she hasn’t been in touch with me. Why would she?’

‘We’ve just come from her house in Burnside and I thought she might have called to tell you that we went there to ask her about the WhatsApp message that Rachel sent to her just before she was killed.’

The corners of Ethan’s mouth turned down and he muttered a curse under his breath.

‘Libby confessed to lying about that encounter with her sister on the path and how it came about,’ James said. ‘And you lied to us as well, Mr Prescott. You told us that you and Libby were on the terrace when you spotted her on the path and went after her.’

Ethan gave a perfunctory nod. ‘Look, I went along with it because Libby asked me to. She didn’t want Greg to know about what Rachel had written. And I couldn’t blame her because it sounded so bad. Saying Libby had a sordid secret and accusing me of hitting her … It was ridiculous. But we didn’t stop to think that the police would probably find it.’

‘Rachel obviously read too much into what she saw,’ Claire said as she moved across the room to stand next to her son. ‘Ethan was just consoling Libby because she was upset over Rachel getting drunk. Both Libby and Ethan say it was nothing more than that, and I believe them.’

‘So, you knew about the WhatsApp message?’ This from Abbott.

‘Ethan told me about it after he was interviewed at the hotel,’ Claire said. ‘I tried to convince them both to put the record straight, but they didn’t want to and made me promise not to say anything.’

‘It’s not Mum’s fault,’ Ethan said. ‘It was our mistake and it’s now come back to bite us.’

Claire placed a hand on his shoulder and he sat back in the chair, his shirt stretching tight across his torso.

‘Would you be willing the swear under oath that you were giving Libby a harmless cuddle and that Rachel misunderstood it, Mr Prescott?’ James asked him.

He nodded. ‘Of course. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you the truth when you first asked me about it. But we were all in a right mess and not thinking straight.’

‘Libby has told me that after your encounter with Rachel, and after she sent that message, the pair of you split up before returning to the reception. Is that correct?’

‘Yes. She went back into the hotel and met up with Greg at the bar.’

‘And where did you go?’

‘I went back to the terrace to join Mum.’