One of the support staff raised a hand and said, ‘Camera checks are still ongoing, sir, but so far nothing has been flagged.’

James then ran through what was happening outside the Murphy home when they got there.

‘I don’t know how serious the brawl would have become if we hadn’t arrived when we did,’ he said. ‘But it provided us with more evidence that best man Mark Slade is a hot-tempered individual.’

James went on to describe how Libby had reacted when he raised the issue of the WhatsApp message from her sister.

‘She claims Rachel wrongly interpreted what was happening and Ethan Prescott gave the same account. They also both denied that they went looking for Rachel after her message came through on Libby’s phone but I want us to check back through the hotel security footage to see if we can confirm for ourselves that they’re telling the truth about that.’

‘DC Abbott has spoken to me about that and I’m on it, sir,’ DC Hall called out.

‘Let me know as soon as possible if you find anything,’ James said. ‘Meanwhile, back to our chat with Prescott. I told him we were going to seek a warrant to gain access to his phone and his response was to give it to us, along with his laptop. DC Abbott had a quick look through his call history but saw none to or from Libby. The techies can analyse both devices properly though. I think we should also get a warrant for the gift shop he runs in Windermere. If the guy is hiding something, that’s where we might find it.’

Next, James went through what Erika Chan had told him about the conversation she had with Rachel on the day of the wedding.

‘She owned up to holding back the details of part of the exchange when we first spoke to her,’ he said. ‘Given what she shared, I intend to have another chat with him before the day is out. I don’t think there’s any question that he’ll deny it but it does give us grounds to target him with a warrant.

The briefing was cut short then as word came through that Carlo Salvi had at last arrived.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

As they made their way to the interview room, James felt an adrenaline rush take hold of his body. He could tell that Abbott was just as keen as he was to confront Rachel’s boyfriend.

This was set to be a defining moment in the investigation, and one that would hopefully bring it to a swift conclusion.

Salvi and the duty solicitor appointed to him were already sitting at the table when they entered. James introduced himself and Abbott, and as they sat he placed a large folder on the table.

The solicitor, a middle-aged man named Clive Edgar, was a familiar face at the station and held in high regard by all the officers. James acknowledged him with a nod before fixing his client with a hard stare.