‘Rob Cooke, Charlotte’s secret boyfriend, is on his way to the station,’ said Natalie. ‘Let me know as soon as he arrives.’

‘You’ve got another visitor,’ said Murray. ‘Phoebe Hill, Charlotte’s sister, and her fiancé, Jed, are here. He’s gone to the drinks machine and said he’ll wait outside in the corridor for her. She’s in interview room C.’

‘Cheers, Murray. I’ll talk to her.’

Phoebe was immaculate, from her dark, groomed eyebrows to her perfect French pleat and her painted nails. As slim as Charlotte but with russet-brown hair, lighter brown eyes and sharper features, it was still obvious she was Charlotte’s sister. Both could carry off any outfit but while Charlotte had an edgier, more flamboyant sense of fashion, Phoebe was more conservative. She tucked one neat ankle behind the other and sat, hands folded in her lap.

‘I’m so sorry for your loss,’ said Natalie.

Phoebe bowed her head in acknowledgement. ‘Thank you. It’s my parents I truly feel sorry for. That’s why I’m here talking to you. They need to know what happened to Charlotte and for her killer to be found. They’re in bits at the moment and all I can do is be there for them. I can’t bring my sister back.’

‘Have you any thoughts on who might have killed her?’

‘Nobody springs to mind.’

‘Have you been in touch with her recently?’

‘No. She and I haven’t been close for some time. We see each other at family get-togethers but that’s all.’

‘Have you fallen out?’

‘Not fallen out, just not on each other’s wavelength. I found her difficult to get along with.’

‘Can you elaborate?’

Phoebe shrugged her slender shoulders. ‘She was more adventurous… less cautious than me. She was by far more of a risk-taker. I wasn’t her biggest fan. In fact, I was glad to live miles away from her.’

‘You didn’t like her?’

‘Not really. Just because we’re related doesn’t mean we have to like or love each other.’

Ice formed around Natalie’s heart. Her own sister, Frances, had said similar words before she’d left for good. She pushed the memory away.

Phoebe continued, ‘Charlotte liked to push the boundaries.’

‘In what way did she push boundaries?’

‘In many ways: relationships, life. She tested us all. My parents stood by her but I found it better to distance myself. She was toxic. I couldn’t put up with her wheedling or treating our parents the way she did. It was heartbreaking to watch her manipulate them and give so little in return.’ She pulled herself into an even straighter sitting position and regarded Natalie once more. ‘Charlotte was never satisfied. We had loving parents, money, opportunities and she wasted all of them.’

‘Can you elaborate?’

‘I can tell you she was a devious, heartless bitch. Does that make it clearer for you? She didn’t care whose feelings she trampled over to get what she wanted.’

‘I take it she hurt you?’

‘Many times, with her lies and her stupid antics that caused my father and mother pain. She was accomplished at playing the innocent. Let me give you some examples: when I was twelve years old, I desperately wanted a pet rabbit. Finally, my parents bought me one and I loved it. I looked after it, cleaned it, played with it and fed it. I thought the world of it. Charlotte then decided she didn’t want to be left out and demanded a rabbit too, even though she’d never wanted one before. She pestered and pestered my father until he gave in. She came home one afternoon from school triumphantly clutching a beautiful black rabbit, which she put in the same hutch as mine. Within two days, she got bored of looking after it, and instead of admitting it, or asking me to help her with it, she deliberately unlocked the hutch, opened the door and let both rabbits escape. I was genuinely heartbroken my pet had gone. Charlotte, however, blamed me for the open door and made an enormous fuss of her loss, cried endless crocodile tears and eventually, to calm her down, Dad bought us a kitten to replace the rabbit.

‘It sounds like a silly, petty story but the point I’m making is when Charlotte wanted something, she got it and then she tired of it. You can’t behave like that as an adult, and yet she did.’ Phoebe was not paying attention to Natalie. She was lost in a world of memories and continued with more stories about her sister’s selfishness.

‘She decided to work in fashion but she had insufficient qualifications for such an ambition, so she cajoled our parents into paying for an online course in fashion design, which she gave up after a year. Then she persuaded them to pay for a course at a local college so she could learn journalism, and when she flunked that course, she convinced them to pay for her to study for a fashion diploma at the London College of Style. She managed to pass that qualification, and what did she do with it afterwards? Nothing. She messed about on Instagram and with a so-called fashion blog.’

‘This sounds more like sibling rivalry.’

Phoebe pursed her lips. ‘Yes, I suppose it might sound that way to you. I’m trying to create an image of her for you. You see, she bored easily and when that happened, she’d become reckless. When she was in London, studying at the fashion college, we shared a flat. She went out partying most nights and I never knew who she’d bring home with her: drug-taking dropouts, scary men with foreign accents, tattoo-covered louts with body piercings and attitudes. Charlotte was experimental. She slept with whomever she felt like sleeping with. She took drugs and she did other crazy stuff. Sometimes she was wild, uncontrollable. She’d take off with a stranger in the middle of the night on the back of his motorbike purely for the excitement of it. She’d jump naked into a freezing-cold river for the simple reason somebody had dared her to. She got into some tricky situations too: out of her head on drugs and locked in a toilet because she was scared rigid of aliens, slumped in the back alley of a nightclub with some junkie mates, with no money to get home. I’d usually get a phone call from one of her so-called friends and have to get her. She did whatever took her fancy and never considered the consequences.’

‘Why didn’t you tell your parents about her behaviour if you were concerned about it?’

‘She begged me not to. Promised she’d sort herself out. Claimed she didn’t want to upset Mum and Dad. She was so contrite and convincing that I believed her. I wanted to believe her because she was my sister and I cared about her at the time. However, she didn’t change. She caused all sorts of trouble, and on each occasion I sorted her out, fixed the problem and promised I wouldn’t tell our parents. I was relieved when her course ended and she returned to live with them. By then, I’d got my position with Emirates and was travelling abroad a lot. I had the perfect excuse to have as little as possible to do with her. It was far better that way. I was tired of her games, lies and antics. She was untrustworthy and so were many of the people she hung out with. It comes as little surprise to me she has met her end in such a horrible way. She didn’t only test me. She tested others too.’

Phoebe lifted her eyes and waited for Natalie to speak.

‘Who do you think would have wanted to kill her?’

‘If she was up to her old ways, then she will have annoyed those closest to her. I don’t need to spell it out, do I, DI Ward?’

‘You’re suggesting her husband murdered her?’

Her shoulders lifted slightly. ‘Maybe. Especially if she wound him up enough. She wasn’t just a handful, she had a darker side. She killed the kitten I told you about. Yes, there was another, more sinister point to my story. She tired of the cat that replaced the rabbit and put a plastic bag over its head until it couldn’t breathe any more, then cried her heart out when it was found dead outside in the garden. I didn’t tell my parents. Charlotte always wanted to be the centre of attention. She is now, and for all the wrong reasons. I hope you find her killer because I want my parents to be able to put this horror behind them. It’s going to be a long, painful journey for them and I blame Charlotte for that.’

‘I understand your fiancé is with you?’

‘Yes, Jed Malloney. He came with me. We only got engaged a few weeks ago, although we’ve been going out together since 2016. He’s a drummer in a band – The Darkest Knights.’

‘Where’s he from?’

‘He’s American, from Connecticut, but he’s lived in London for about ten years. Why, is that important?’

‘Did he know Charlotte?’

She shook her head. ‘He’s barely spoken to her, only at a couple of family events. Like I said, I didn’t have much to do with her so we never visited her and Adam.’

‘But you saw your parents frequently?’

‘From time to time. We invariably met up with them in London. They’d come down to see us. It’s difficult to do stuff together when one partner is in the recording studio or touring and the other is on long-haul flights. Whatever free time we have we prefer to keep for ourselves. We certainly didn’t want to waste any by hanging out with Charlotte and Adam.’

‘Do you like Adam?’

‘I don’t have any feelings about him. He’s always seemed okay. But, as I said, I haven’t spent much time with him or Charlotte.’

‘One last question, Phoebe. Do you know anyone called Rob Cooke?’

Phoebe looked directly at her and shook her head. ‘I’ve never heard of him. My parents haven’t mentioned him.’

Natalie thanked her for her cooperation and ended the conversation. Phoebe stood in one fluid movement and picked up a red cardigan that had been placed on the back of her chair. ‘If you have any further questions for me, I’ll be staying with my parents for the next few days.’

Natalie accompanied her to the corridor, where a young man with striking features, long blond hair and dressed in a leather jacket and ripped black jeans put an arm around her and walked her towards the exit.

She departed, leaving Natalie feeling discombobulated. It wasn’t so much the icy tone Phoebe had used throughout the conversation that had taken her aback, or the thought that two sisters who, like her and her own sister, Frances, had once been close had come to hate each other, but the fresh knowledge that Charlotte had calmly killed a small, helpless animal. What sort of person was she?

---

Rob Cooke was hunched over in the seat, his silver-grey eyes now puffy and red-veined from crying. He held the plastic cup of water in long, pale fingers and stared at the contents, salty tears rolling down his cheeks, staining them, unable to control them. Natalie had called in Lucy to help her talk to the man who could barely string together a sentence at the moment.

He’d seemed composed when he’d first appeared, escorted by an officer into the interview room where Natalie was waiting for him, but his demeanour had altered as soon as he’d grabbed hold of her hand to introduce himself. He’d crumbled instantly.

‘Mr Cooke, would you like us to call anybody to be here with you?’ Lucy’s voice was gentle.

He shook his head and snivelled. ‘Sorry… be okay…’ He heaved in gulps of air.

It took another full five minutes before he was able to speak again. He put the cup on the table and blew his nose with one of the tissues from the box Lucy had placed before him.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said once more.

‘It’s fine,’ said Natalie. ‘You’ve had some very bad news.’

He raked his fingers through his dark hair, a fashionable buzz cut at the sides leaving enough length on top to style with product. A dapper man with neat fingernails and eyebrows, slim and slight-built, he was a contrast to the masculine Adam. He dropped his hands onto skinny jeans and shook his head.

‘I should have insisted on us leaving sooner.’

‘Can you go into more detail, Rob? What were you intending to do?’

He lifted his reddened eyes. ‘We were planning to get away from this area, go somewhere new where he couldn’t harm her or Alfie – Scotland.’

‘Are you suggesting Charlotte was concerned about her husband?’ Natalie asked.

His eyebrows rose high on his forehead. ‘Of course. You must know how violent he is? Haven’t you looked into his past?’

‘I think it might be best if you explain exactly what was going on. You and Charlotte Brannon were lovers. Is that correct?’

‘We were in love.’ He held up a hand, palm forward, and sniffed back tears then continued, his eyes never leaving Natalie’s face.

‘I met Charlotte at a coffee shop in Samford. There were very few seats available but there was space at her table. She let me take the remaining seat. We got chatting. There was a spark between us from that first moment. It became our regular haunt, a place where we’d sit and talk when I had a lunch break or time between appointments. We’d spend ages lost in conversation. Then one day, I noticed a bruise on her wrist. She laughed it off but I knew it was more serious than she was willing to let on. The next occasion we met up, I spotted she had a mark on her cheek, even though it was partly camouflaged with make-up. She insisted she’d knocked herself on a cupboard door, but her eyes told a different story and I extracted the truth, that her husband was beating her. He’s a really jealous guy – a boxer by profession – and thought nothing of giving her a thump now and again. She was concerned about her son, Alfie. Adam was showing little interest in him and she worried for his future, living with a hostile, violent man.’

He stopped to take a sip of water. He shook his head sadly. ‘Our affair began shortly after that revelation. She was too scared to leave him and terrified of what he’d do to either of us if he found out we were sleeping together. I wanted her to report him to the police, but she refused point-blank, saying he had friends who would cause us both serious harm if he got wind she’d told the authorities about the abuse. We were trapped. She couldn’t leave Adam.

‘We played the dangerous game of seeing each other whenever we could. It became more and more serious between us. Then, last month, we made the big decision to uproot our lives, head north and live as a family – me, her and Alfie. We were going to a little place on the outskirts of Edinburgh so I could get work in the city. We found a couple of cottages to rent until we found somewhere to buy. She decided it would be best to make our escape when Adam was occupied. He has a fight coming up in a couple of weeks and would have been busy training instead of checking up on Charlotte all the time. I guess he got wind about the whole thing.’

He released a pained, shuddering sigh.

Natalie spoke up. ‘When did you last see Charlotte?’

‘A week ago. We snatched a few minutes in the park.’

‘And you talked about running away together?’

‘You make it sound like love-struck teenagers who don’t know their own mind.’

‘I didn’t mean it to come across that way.’

‘No, of course you didn’t. Sorry. I’m… well, you know. Yes, we talked about getting her and Alfie away from her abusive husband.’

‘And did you contact her during the week?’

‘Twice. I rang her on Thursday morning, before I left the office.’

‘What did you ring her about?’

‘She was going out to dinner with her parents at the weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. I told her to have a good time and to give what we’d been discussing some deep thought. It was time to leave Adam.’

‘I was given to believe Charlotte’s response was, “No… I will… Tomorrow.” Can you explain that?’

‘“No” was in reply to my question, “Can you talk?” I always started a conversation that way, so I knew if we could chat freely. ‘“I will” was in answer to me telling her to have a good time. “Tomorrow” was when she intended making preparations to leave Adam.’

‘You said you contacted her twice.’

‘The second time was Friday afternoon. I sent her a photo on Snapchat of the view from my hotel room as soon as I got there. I had a good view of the sea.’

‘Where were you?’

‘Isle of Wight. I was at an estate agents’ business event about selling property abroad. It was held at the Fairfield Hotel. There were various seminars followed by a dinner and it went on until quite late, and then there was a final breakfast meeting at nine this morning. I left immediately after that meeting ended. Took me almost five hours to drive back. I have details here, somewhere.’ He stood up and pulled out a wallet from his trouser pocket, thumbed through it and, sitting once again, passed a business card to Natalie. ‘That’s the organisation who set up the event. They’ll be able to confirm I attended.’

‘Did you usually contact Charlotte using Snapchat?’

‘Yes. She discovered Adam was monitoring her other social media sites to see who she was talking to, so she stopped using them. He also used to regularly check her phone log and messages. That’s why I rang from the office phone on Thursday. It was better to ring from a local landline number and less likely to cause suspicion than a call from a mobile he didn’t recognise. Snapchat is the safest way to communicate. As you are no doubt aware, conversations are deleted immediately, so Adam couldn’t find out what had been said between us.’

‘Did you confront or talk to Adam?’

He shook his head. ‘Never. Charlotte didn’t want him to know about me at all. That was for protection. With him having no idea who I was, Charlotte and Alfie would have been safe living with me.’

‘How long were you and Charlotte in a relationship?’

‘Since the beginning of December. It’d be three months tomorrow.’

Lucy left the room to check the details of the convention. Rob sipped his water and stared into space.

‘I should have intervened,’ he said eventually. ‘I ought to have reported the violence and got her and Alfie away from him. I’ll never forgive myself for this. I could have saved her.’

‘We haven’t charged Adam Brannon. This remains an ongoing investigation.’

‘But surely he’s your prime suspect?’ he persisted, eyebrows knitted together.

‘I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss the case.’ She understood his confusion. It seemed logical that a man with a history of violence might attack his wife but Adam had told her he’d never laid a hand on Charlotte and Phoebe had assured her Charlotte was an accomplished liar. If this were true, perhaps Rob had been duped by her lies.

Lucy returned. ‘Thank you, sir,’ she said. ‘I’ve spoken to Serena Holloway, the organiser, who remembers you checking in on Friday the second. She also confirmed you attended the seminars and the evening event. She handed out the name badges. She was there when you checked out this morning too.’

‘I remember Serena. She had a nice smile. Told me to have a good day.’ His hand shook as he sipped the drink again. ‘Ironic, eh? There’s nothing good at all about today. What do I do now? What do I do?’ He lifted damp eyes to her.

Natalie shook her head slightly. ‘I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do other than maybe talk it through with friends or family.’

He dropped his head into his hands and sobbed. ‘I wish I’d convinced her to leave him.’