‘That’s not what most people think,’ Denise replied. ‘Even Greg is convinced that she must be in the lake.’

Denise closed her eyes then and drew in a tremulous breath.

‘We’ll just have to keep praying then,’ she said, her voice cracking as she spoke.

Her husband put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

‘Do you know if Rachel was seen on the jetty or walking towards it during the reception?’ Claire Prescott asked. ‘Or even what possessed her to go down there when everyone else had come back into the hotel because it was so cold and getting dark?’

‘As far as I know nobody has come forward to say that they saw her,’ James answered. ‘But Mr Murphy seems to think that she might have gone there to sober up after her sister spoke to her about her drinking.’

A look passed between Claire and Fraser and James decided to seize on it.

‘Mr Murphy also gave me the impression that your daughter has a drink problem, Mr Elliott. Is that true?’

There was a long pause before Fraser spoke.

‘It’s not a problem as such,’ he said. ‘But she does consume more alcohol than is good for her when she’s stressed.’

‘And was she feeling stressed today?’

Fraser nodded. ‘It was partly because she was uncomfortable being the maid-of-honour. It wasn’t something she’d been looking forward to.’

‘So why did she do it?’

‘Because Libby insisted. They argued about it for weeks and Rachel eventually caved.’

‘Was there a reason she didn’t want to step into the role?’

Fraser bit his lip, trying to control the emotion in his voice.

‘It’s a long story,’ he said, ‘but essentially it was because today was always going to be a painful experience for her. You see, Rachel was supposed to get married in this very hotel just ten months ago, but the toerag she was engaged to dumped her just weeks before they were meant to walk down the aisle. Denise and I tried to persuade Libby to change the venue to one of Greg’s other hotels, but he said they were all fully booked because it was New Year’s Eve, which was when he wanted it to happen, and he wasn’t prepared to waste money on a place he didn’t own.’

‘I can see why Rachel might have found it quite difficult,’ James said. ‘Did it put a strain on her relationship with Libby?’

‘No more than usual,’ Fraser said. ‘They love each other dearly but they’re like chalk and cheese. Libby is the outgoing one and has done so well for herself. She went to university whereas Rachel struggled academically and left school at sixteen. Libby now has a highly paid job in a property management company and Rachel feels like a failure because she works in a café and lives with us. So, naturally, they fall out from time to time, just as most sisters do.’

James then asked about the man Rachel was going to marry ten months ago.