As they drew closer to the group in front of the jetty, Abbott said, ‘I’ve just realised that the tall guy in the winter coat who’s talking to the two uniforms is Greg Murphy. The woman next to him is Miss Cornwall, the hotel manager.’

Murphy towered above the others and he was the one doing the talking, his voice loud and strident as he complained about there not being enough officers. When he suddenly spotted Abbott approaching, he stopped speaking and jabbed an accusing finger at her.

‘You told me that Rachel’s disappearance would be taken seriously,’ he said. ‘But if that’s the case, then why are there so few of you here?’

Abbott was about to respond but James beat her to it.

‘More patrols are on their way, Mr Murphy, and I can assure you that we are taking this extremely seriously,’ he said. ‘I promise we’ll do everything in our power to find your sister-in-law.’

Murphy broke away from the group and stood in front of James.

‘And who might you be?’ he asked.

‘I’m Detective Inspector James Walker and I’ll be the senior investigating officer on this case. I’ve just arrived and DC Abbott has been explaining to me what has happened. I can appreciate you’re anxious and worried, but it takes time for a full-scale search to be organised.’

Murphy squeezed his lips together and dragged in a sharp breath.

‘But she’s already been missing for almost three hours,’ he replied, and James noticed a trace of a Scottish accent tugging at his vowels. ‘It seems bloody obvious that she’s fallen into the lake, which, given the state she was in, is hardly a surprise. You probably need to bring in boats and divers, not just a few plods to traipse around the grounds.’

‘A search and rescue team will be here shortly, Mr Murphy,’ James said. ‘And we won’t stop looking until we find her. For now, could you clarify what you meant about Rachel being “in a state” before she went missing?’

‘I assumed you knew that she’d had a lot to drink, even for her. It’s why she stormed out of the reception after Libby confronted her about it. We didn’t want her to get drunk because as maid-of-honour she was supposed to make a speech and offer up a toast.’

James recalled what Abbott had said about seeing the two sisters having a conversation at the bar not long after the incident in the corridor involving Rachel and the bearded man.

‘I know that Rachel is single, Mr Murphy,’ James said. ‘But she was seen coming out of her room with a man at some point during the reception. He spoke Italian and has a beard. Can you tell me who he is? We’d like to talk to him.’

Murphy shook his head. ‘Your colleague there has already asked me that. As far as I know Rachel didn’t invite any blokes and there were no bearded Italians on the seating plan. But you should ask Libby. She might know who he is. And check with Erika Chan. She’s our wedding coordinator and was responsible for arranging everything.’