She got into the car and watched as Dexter walked back down Ashwell Road towards the town. She sighed heavily and rested her forearms on the steering wheel. Today had been an absolute disaster, in so many ways. She’d be glad to put it behind her. She hoped her weak excuse about not having eaten would wash with the team. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to feel she was weak or incapable. She’d got used to that being at the back of her own mind for too long — she certainly didn’t need anyone else thinking it.

She bumped the car back down the kerb and accelerated away, looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

32

Sleep, though, was hard to come by. It seemed that every step she took, the further she strayed from catching Roger Clifton’s killer. Whichever direction she turned, she found resistance and ran into roadblocks.

It was the most frustrating case she’d worked on in a long time. All of the ingredients were there, but it seemed impossible to stitch everything together in a way that formed a coherent case. There were still too many holes, too many inconsistencies, too many places in which this could easily fall apart.

Patrick Walsh seemed, to her, to be a lead worth pursuing. The affair with Alice Clifton seemed all too convenient, but it seemed she didn’t stand to make any benefit from Roger being dead. She already had the house, their separation had been amicable and she had no share in Arthur Clifton Construction. Then again, Alice Clifton’s reaction when she found out Arthur was going to inherit the business made it clear she’d at least suspected she might be first in line. But was it strong enough?

The missing link seemed to be the younger Arthur. She didn’t know what part he played, but his appearance back on the scene so soon after his brother’s death couldn’t be ignored. He had one thing, if nothing else: a motive.

The issue was that he wasn’t in the country when Roger died. There was, of course, always the possibility that he could have worked in cahoots with Alice and Patrick, but there was no reason for them to do so. Neither Alice nor Patrick had anything to gain from Roger’s death, so why would they agree to commit murder in order to help Arthur out?

In short, Alice and Patrick had the means and the opportunity, but no motive. Arthur had a clear motive, but no means or opportunity. And there was no compulsion or reason for any of them to have worked together and combine means, motive and opportunity together.