The anger in Melissa’s voice was unmistakeable. “Then, a few months later, she started to mention Damon Blundy, and how interesting and clever his writing was. Again, the mock-innocent tone: ‘I hope you don’t mind me mentioning Damon Blundy so often?’ she’d ask, all wide-eyed. ‘It’s just that he’s my new favorite columnist. It’s so important to have a favorite columnist, isn’t it?’ I read his columns, and there was Nicki in the comments thread every time, sticking up for him. I’d asked her not to tell me about what she was getting up to—this was her way of saying, ‘Fuck you, I’ll do what I like, as always.’ I snapped one day and said, ‘I get it, Nicki—you’re sleeping with Damon Blundy. Bully for you.’ She pretended to be shocked: ‘What? Where have you got that from? I’m not, and even if I were, I wouldn’t tell you, would I? You’ve asked not to be told.’ Trust me, she was having an affair with him. Why else would she suddenly leave London and move to Spilling? She’s not an escape-to-the-country sort of person. She loves London. But Damon Blundy moved from London to Spilling, so she had to follow. She made Adam ask for a transfer at work so that she could be nearer to Blundy.”

“Did you tell Lee what you suspected?” Gibbs asked.

“No. Not until Tuesday, after Nicki asked me to lie to the police. That brought home to me how serious it was. Before that . . . no. Lee’d have told his mum and dad, and they’d have told Nicki’s husband, Adam—everything that happened when I told him on Monday would have happened a lot sooner. I don’t actually want Nicki’s life to fall apart, or Adam’s, and since I didn’t know for sure—”

“Hold on,” Gibbs stopped her. “On Tuesday, you told your husband that you suspected his sister had been involved with Damon Blundy and . . . he told their parents?” Why would he do that? Anyone sensible would want to keep the parents out of it, surely. “And they told Nicki’s husband?” Nice family.

“They told Nicki they were going to. She said there was no need—she’d already told him. I don’t know if that’s true or not. If I know Nicki . . . I think she might have told Adam something, knowing her parents would otherwise, but not the whole truth. No way.”

Gibbs leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “All right, so let’s say Nicki was having an affair with Damon Blundy. Does that mean she killed him?”

Melissa looked confused. “No, of course not. But . . . it means she might have done, doesn’t it? Lee thinks so, and he’s her brother. If she’s got nothing to hide, why’s she asking me to lie to the police for her?”