‘Of course,’ James agreed as he stood. ‘As I said earlier, family liaison officers will be assigned and will keep you all updated on the police investigation. As soon as I know who they are I’ll pass on their details to your husband and your parents,’ he said to Libby.

After he exited the suite, James experienced a pang of guilt for having left Libby in such a state. The poor woman had so much to deal with. Her sister had been murdered. Her wedding had been ruined. And her mother had turned against her. Surely that was more than anyone should have to bear?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

James had now been at the hotel for about nine hours and he could feel exhaustion gnawing at his bones.

He knew he was in for a long, gruelling day and that he wouldn’t be able to return home to his wife and daughter until at least early evening.

He also had his doubts about how much he and his team would manage to achieve by then. It would all depend on how quickly things developed and how lucky they were.

Would they get a breakthrough with the discovery of some solid piece of physical evidence? Would a guest or member of the hotel staff suddenly recall seeing something that would point them in the direction of the killer? Would Rachel’s Italian lover turn up in the coming hours and confess to the crime?

So many thoughts were gnashing in his head that he feared that it was only a matter of time before it brought on one of his tension headaches. He’d long ago come to accept that it was one of the downsides of his demanding job as they were usually triggered by tiredness and stress, and it was why he always carried a pack of painkillers with him.

There were things he needed to do before setting off for the Elliot house in Bowness, which was luckily only a couple of miles away, but first he needed to visit their room to see if they wanted to go with him.

Fraser answered the door and invited him in. His wife was lying on the bed fully clothed and hugging a pillow, her eyes squeezed shut.

‘We’ve discussed it and would prefer to go home,’ Fraser said. ‘We see no point in staying here and Libby has made it clear that she doesn’t want to see us again today.’

James then asked Fraser how long it would take them to get ready.

‘Half an hour at the most,’ he replied. ‘We haven’t got much to pack.’

‘Did you use your own car to get here?’

‘No, we came by taxi.’

‘Then I’ll take you and someone will help you with your bags when we’re ready to go.’

‘Will we be permitted to take Rachel’s things with us?’ Fraser asked.

‘I’m afraid not,’ James said. ‘It all needs to be examined and tested by forensics. But I can assure you that nothing will get lost and I’ll personally see to it that everything is returned to you.’