“It was dark. We couldn’t see anything really. Andy got his mobile out of his pocket but dropped it on the ground and had to scrabble around to find it. Then he shone it downward and there was a body. Andy had blood all over him, even on his face. I looked down at my hands and saw I did too.” As she spoke, she could see it all: the little beam of the mobile’s torch picking out the stare of open eyes, the gaping wound in the neck, an unnatural twist of limbs.

“Did you see who it was?”

“I don’t know what I thought. Andy said it was Stuart, I realized he was right.”

“Just to be clear, you knew Stuart Rees?”

“Yes, he’s my neighbor now.” She stopped. “I suppose I should say he was my neighbor. And years ago, he was one of my teachers.”

“So you knew him well?”

“What can I say? He was a teacher.”

“Were you on good terms?”

“We weren’t on bad terms. I didn’t really see him much, though, just to say hello.”

“What happened next?”

“We went back inside. Andy called nine-nine-nine. We waited. The ambulance arrived and the police and it all started. You know the rest.”

Mora Piozzi closed her laptop.

“So you see, it makes no sense,” Tabitha continued urgently. “Why would I have sent Andy outside to look at the planks if I’d just killed someone out there and left the body for him to trip over? Why would I kill Stuart anyway? It’s just crazy. You see that, don’t you?”

The solicitor glanced at her watch. “We’ve made a good start. I’ll be back quite soon, by which time I hope to have a more detailed knowledge of the prosecution’s case against you.”

Tabitha nodded.

“In the next few days you’ll have a medical assessment.”

“Why? I’m not ill. I might be small but I’m strong. It’s that swimming.” Her voice jarred. She tried to smile. She was cold and shaky and she didn’t want to go back to the central hall, where everyone watched her and shouts echoed, or to her cell, where she was trapped with herself. The day ahead seemed endless, but the day led to the night and that was even worse.

“It’s just part of the process. And I want you to write down everything you can remember that you think might be useful.”

“What kind of things?”

“Timings. People you saw or talked to. Give me a list of the people in the village you’re friendly with.”

“I only moved there a few weeks ago.”

“You should tell me anything you think might be helpful to your case, or relevant. I would much rather hear things from you than from the prosecution.”

Tabitha nodded.

“Make sure you arrange visitors. Family. Friends. Have you any of your things here?”

“No.”