By the time the evening had rolled round and the boys were in bed, she’d resolved to spend a couple of hours watching a film with Mark. That had been easier said than done. Although she was trying her hardest to focus on the screen and follow the storyline, her mind kept wandering.

She pulled out her phone and opened the Photos app before bringing up the picture Dexter had taken the other night in the Wheatsheaf. She looked at the image, deep into the eyes of Patrick Walsh and silently asked him what he was hiding. There was something about the man that made her feel very uneasy, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She’d get there eventually — she knew she would — but so far it was eluding her.

‘You okay?’ Mark asked, not taking his eyes off the television.

‘Yeah. Fine.’

‘Want a top-up?’ he said, gesturing towards her empty glass on the coffee table in front of them.

Caroline put her phone down on the arm of the sofa. ‘Yeah. Good idea,’ she said. ‘I’ll get them.’

She stood up and walked to the kitchen with the empty glasses, a thousand thoughts running through her head. Sooner or later — somehow — she needed to find a way of organising them. Because otherwise she was in real danger of becoming a liability to herself, not to mention everybody else.

27

Caroline was no more a fan of Mondays than anyone else, but this one signified a fresh start. She was determined to make this week her week, and it was going to start with Patrick Walsh.

Walsh had finally agreed to come in and speak to Caroline in a voluntary interview. She was keen to stress to him that he wasn’t under arrest, but she knew she could play that card at any time that suited her.

He arrived shortly after ten o’clock — something which riled Caroline straight away. So far as she could see, he had no reason to be late and she was certain he’d only done it as a power play. They sat down in the interview room — a far more formal setting than Caroline would’ve liked in this instance, but it was all they had.

Having settled Walsh in with a cup of tea, Caroline started with some gentle, casual questioning as Dexter sat next to her and took notes.

‘So what’s your connection with the Clifton family?’ she asked, starting to move things on.

‘How do you mean?’

‘Well, how do you know them? How often do you see them? On what grounds? That sort of thing.’

‘I met Alice through the church. I see them through the church. That’s about it.’

‘You don’t see each other socially outside the church?’

‘Sometimes, yeah.’

‘What about Roger?’

‘What about him?’

‘Were you friendly with him?’

‘I’m friendly with everyone.’

‘How friendly are you with Alice Clifton?’