‘I have. I feel it’d be wrong to go home while all this is going on. I’m staying in one of the rooms. You see, even without the guests, the hotel still has to function. We have to keep the kitchen open to feed the staff and the phones have to be answered. Plus, we’re in the process of taking down the Christmas and wedding decorations.’

James noticed then that the heavy make-up the woman had on failed to conceal the darkness under her eyes.

‘How has it all impacted on the staff?’ he asked.

‘Quite badly. Some are so traumatised they’re having to take time off.’

‘Have you been kept abreast of developments in the investigation?’

‘Your officers won’t give anything away, but I’ve been fed bits of news by various people including Greg and Erika, our wedding coordinator. She spoke to me this morning about your visit to her home yesterday. It quite upset her.’

‘Is she in today?’

‘Indeed, she is. She’s helping to sort out the wedding paraphernalia. Most of it belongs to the hotel and needs to be put in storage.’

‘And what exactly did she say to you about our visit?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘She told me that you went there to see her boyfriend and she arrived home unexpectedly just as you were about to leave. Frankly, it was news to me that she’s been living with Doug Hannigan. Erika hasn’t mentioned any changes in her private life to me and now I realise why. She felt she needed to let me know what had happened between Hannigan and Rachel before it becomes public knowledge as she fears it will. And she plans to tell Greg when he’s out of his meeting.’

‘I suppose that makes sense,’ James said.

‘She assured me that she’s left Hannigan. She walked out on him this morning after telling him she needed to be by herself for a while. She packed some of her belongings in her car and I said she could stay in one of our rooms for a few nights while she sorts herself out.’

‘Well, that’s probably for the best,’ James said.

‘That’s what I told her, but she wouldn’t say whether she thinks she might go back after a break. She’s in a bit of a mess after what happened on New Year’s Eve. As usual, she put her heart and soul into organising the wedding, and of all my staff she’s the one who’s been most affected by what happened. And to make matters worse, she believes you now regard her as a suspect in Rachel’s murder.’

James rolled out his bottom lip. ‘Not everyone we speak to is a suspect, Miss Cornwall. Most are just helping us with our enquiries.’

She flashed an uncertain smile. ‘You might want to make that clear to her then, Inspector, before she meets with Greg. I very much doubt that he’ll be as sympathetic as I am when she opens up to him and I don’t think he’ll take kindly to the fact that he didn’t know about her relationship with the man who dumped his wife’s sister. I just hope he doesn’t refuse to let her stay here.’