‘And what did you do after that?’ James asked.

‘I walked back to the hotel, cleaned my stick, and made sure there was no blood on me. It was then that I realised I’d left her purse and broken glasses on the jetty, but it was too late to go back and get them so I went downstairs and back to Ethan, who was still on the terrace. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to hold myself together and get through the rest of the evening without breaking down. To be honest, I’m glad I haven’t got away with what I did because I really don’t deserve to. I loved Rachel as much as I love Libby. But now I’ve lost both of them and I only have myself to blame.’

After she stopped talking, her shoulders dropped and she withdrew into herself.

James stood and told her she was under arrest for the murder of Rachel Elliott. She didn’t respond and that didn’t surprise him.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Things moved pretty quickly after backup arrived. As Claire was escorted out of the house by uniformed officers who would be taking her to the station in Kendal, James sat down with Ethan and Libby and told them what she had said to him. They were both reduced to tears.

He also made it clear that the plan they’d hatched with Claire could no longer remain a secret.

‘It will all have to come out after she’s charged,’ he said to Libby, ‘as your husband and parents will need to be told what led to Rachel’s death. There’s no way of keeping it from them.’

‘I’ll tell my father first and then get him to go with me when I break the news to Greg,’ she replied. ‘I’ve no doubt he’ll expect me to move out right away, but that’s the least of my worries.’

‘And I think you need to accept that it’s highly unlikely you’ll get any kind of divorce settlement in view of what you did, which will come out in court.’

‘I know that, Inspector, but I really couldn’t care less about that now.’

There was disbelief on the faces of virtually every member of the team, including DCI Tanner, when James got back to the station. He briefed them on everything that had happened at the Prescott house while a doctor spent some time with Claire to ensure that she was in a fit state to be formally interviewed.

James made it clear that she would be charged with murder but that he expected that when it came to trial her legal team would push for it to be reduced to manslaughter.

The briefing ended with a few loose ends being tied up. DS Stevens said that the search of Douglas Hannigan’s house had proved fruitless, and the Crown Prosecution Service would have to decide whether it was worth pursuing a case against him for making threats against Rachel. James very much doubted that they would.

And DC Isaac had an update on Mark Slade that amused everyone.