Salvi nodded. ‘That’s right. It wasn’t until the next day that I heard on the radio that a woman had died during the wedding. I followed the story as it developed and learned that it was Rachel. That’s when I panicked. I didn’t want to be drawn into it so I changed my plans and decided to leave for Italy as soon as possible.’

‘Did you know we’d put out an appeal for information on your whereabouts?’ James asked him.

‘Yes. I saw it. I also saw that the police were saying Rachel had been murdered. But by then I was on my way to London and I wasn’t prepared to take the chance of staying here and going to prison for a crime I did not commit.’

James couldn’t be sure that Salvi was telling the truth, but he was sure that the evidence they had was not enough to secure a conviction. They would need to either wear him down to prompt a confession or come up with a way to disprove his version of events.

Perhaps they would find something incriminating among his belongings or maybe footage from traffic cameras would show that he drove home after Rachel vanished and not before, proving he’d lied.

‘We’ll terminate the interview there,’ James said, ‘but you will be held in custody while our inquiry continues, Mr Salvi. It will give you time to think about what you’ve told us and decide if there’s anything you want to change or add. We’ll resume our questioning tomorrow, but you should be aware that, as it stands, we’re seriously considering charging you with Rachel Elliott’s murder.’

Salvi didn’t respond. He just sat there staring at James with a fearful expression on his face.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

‘My instinct is to believe him, guv,’ Abbott said as they walked back into the office. ‘But I’m guessing that’s not what you think.’

‘I’m not sure what to think,’ James said. ‘I admit he gave a plausible answer to every question, but he’s had a long time to think about it. And he did initially lie about going straight to his car after the argument with Rachel. It means we should regard everything else he told us with a degree of caution.’

Abbott nodded. ‘I agree, but if what he said about why they argued is true, then I can understand why Rachel decided to drown her sorrows in drink. It must have come as a bitter blow to discover that their relationship was so one-sided.’

‘I know it’s a cliché, but it sounds like she was blinded by her love for him,’ James said. ‘She probably did come to accept that he wasn’t going to stay in this country, but then convinced herself that if she offered to go with him to Italy, he’d be all for it and they could then keep their relationship alive. But it proved to be a mistake.’

The team were waiting anxiously to hear how the interview had gone, and they were disappointed to learn that Salvi hadn’t confessed to the murder.