DC Abbott went with them and on the way, they bumped into her fiancé, Sean, who was hanging around the reception area.

‘I don’t envy you guys with this one,’ Sean said. ‘I still can’t get my head around what has happened.’

James nodded. ‘You and me both. I gather you’re a friend of Greg Murphy?’

‘That’s right. We play golf together. He’s a nice guy.’

‘Then I might need to pick your brain a little later if that’s okay.’

‘Sure thing. Jessica can always reach me.’ He turned to her then and added, ‘I think it’s best if I go to the room now. I don’t want to be in the way. I don’t suppose you’ll be coming up any time soon?’

‘You must be joking,’ she told him with a smile. ‘You try to get some sleep.’

He smiled back. ‘Now who’s joking? My brain feels like it’s on fire and my nerves are shot to pieces.’

They left him standing in reception and hurried to the manager’s office. Karen Cornwall was with Grant Fuller and the first thing James did was explain why Mike Lynch was joining them.

She raised an eyebrow and asked him why he hadn’t already mentioned it to her.

‘It didn’t really occur to me that it might mean anything, boss, until the detective here spelt things out to us,’ he said. ‘Then I thought it might be relevant to what’s happened.’

‘Well, let’s hope the man you saw had his picture taken at some point,’ she said.

James then told her that the bearded guy seen with Rachel was believed to be named Carlo Salvi.

‘Do you know if he was registered here as a guest?’

She gave an emphatic shake of the head. ‘I’ve been through the list several times and his name’s most definitely not on there.’

‘Then the plan must have been for him to sleep in Rachel’s room.’

Miss Cornwall nodded. ‘Would you like me to get you all something to drink?’

‘Abbott and I could both do with a caffeine fix,’ James told her. ‘Milk and no sugar for me.’

‘And I’ll have mine black with one sugar,’ Abbott said.

As she left the room Grant Fuller held up a USB memory stick.

‘The photos are all on here,’ he said. ‘There are quite a few to go through. I’ve also got some video footage that I’ve yet to download.’

James found it hard to look at so many happy scenes and smiling faces knowing what had transpired later on. There was the bride and groom taking their vows. The couple with the bridal party. Shots of the three-tiered wedding cake. The maid-of-honour beaming at the cameras while clutching either a bouquet or her purse.

Most of the shots were taken inside the hotel, but some showed groups of guests posing in the garden and on the terrace. Many more had been randomly snapped during the ceremony and the reception.

‘I didn’t take any during the meal, but I did intend to video the speeches and toasts,’ Fuller explained.