Beth made yet another pot of tea and placed it on the table in front of Suzy’s brother and sister. They’d come over after a frantic call from Suzy. Both were ashen-faced and the brother stank of stale alcohol. He’d driven here, but Beth had chosen to overlook that fact: cautioning him for drink-driving wouldn’t help anyone. Most people had no idea of just how long it took for the body to break down alcohol. She’d been amazed when during her training she’d learned that the human body takes ten hours to fully rid itself of the alcohol in a bottle of wine.

Tears had been shed and fierce, supportive hugs exchanged with Suzy. The sister was an older, plumper version of Suzy, whereas the brother was a slight man with a stooped posture and lank hair.

Beth had been given no more than passing glances while she waited for the FLO to arrive. O’Dowd had scarpered at the first opportunity after questioning Suzy about her husband’s possible enemies. At least the DI had promised to send Unthank over to collect her once the FLO was in situ.

Despite feeling as useful as a cardboard cut-out, Beth knew she had a job to do.

‘I know this is a terrible time for you all, but I am afraid I do have a few questions.’

The sister buried her head in her arms and let out sobs of grief that heaved at her rounded shoulders. It was obvious the grief wasn’t just for herself but also for her sister and her nieces, as Suzy had gone to tell her daughters the terrible news.

A nod from the brother gave Beth permission to start. He was doing his best at being manful and strong, but whether it was last night’s alcohol, or his natural empathy, he was struggling to maintain his composure and provide support for his sisters.

‘Angus wasn’t reported missing until two days ago, yet Suzy mentioned he left home on Saturday. Do you know why your sister didn’t contact us sooner?’

The brother gave a sigh, looked at the kitchen units and the floor before speaking. ‘They have a tempestuous relationship. They’ll be fine for a year or so and then there will be a big fall out and Angus will… would go back to his mother’s for a week or two before they patched things up.’ A shrug. ‘That was their norm and it’s the way they’ve always been. The only reason she wouldn’t have reported him missing sooner would have been her anger at him. It was when he hadn’t called to speak to the girls that Suzy started worrying. Whatever happened between the two of them, he always called his girls.’

Beth wondered if the fact that Angus had left before would help or hurt his children. The last time they’d seen their father would have been a heated situation where harsh words were spoken. Would that be his daughters’ last memories of him, shouting and swearing as he left with a suitcase? And there were Suzy’s feelings to consider; whether she’d been the aggressor or victim in their latest argument would be immaterial. She’d appoint the blame squarely on her own shoulders for him not being safe at home with her and the kids. Every word from her mouth would be analysed and criticised as she wondered if she’d been too brutal in throwing him out, or too accepting of his decision to leave.

Yet, the tumultuous relationship was a red flag to a police officer, and Beth had a duty to pursue this line of enquiry. Official statistics proved that most people who were killed died at the hands of someone they knew, and in a lot of those cases, the murders were committed by the victim’s nearest and dearest. As horrific as it was to think of a wife killing her husband in the way Angus had been found, the investigation’s first focus would have to be on eliminating the victim’s family members and closest friends as suspects.

‘Do you know why they split this time?’

As soon as the brother’s scornful gaze landed on her, Beth realised she should have picked her words with more care.

An exasperated hand pointed towards the lounge. ‘What does it matter what they fell out over this time? My sister is in there telling two precious little girls why their daddy isn’t ever coming home.’

Beth held her tongue as it began to dawn on the brother why she was asking.

His top lip curled into a snarl. ‘You think she did it? Are you crazy? My sister wouldn’t harm a fly. She’s terrified of spiders, but she still made us remove them from her bedroom on a sheet of toilet paper and release them outside. Whatever you’re thinking is wrong, very wrong.’

‘Please hear me out.’ Beth returned his stare until he looked away. ‘It’s just hours into the investigation, we can’t say anything for certain yet. We’re still gathering facts and looking for clues.’

The brother’s bottom jaw stuck out. ‘Then think harder and look better. My sister isn’t a killer and you’re barking up the wrong tree if you think she had anything to do with his death.’

A hand snaked out from the older sister who lifted her head off her arms and grabbed her brother’s hand. ‘Peter.’ A swallow as she fought for composure. ‘The lass is just doing her job. Stop picking a fight with her and answer her questions. You’re not helping anyone.’

Peter scowled at his sister, then turned his head to Beth and lifted an eyebrow. ‘C’mon then, Miss Marple. Let’s hear your questions.’

Beth ignored the insult. ‘You said earlier that Angus had gone to stay at his mother’s. Where does she live?’

‘Longtown. Don’t know the address.’

The address didn’t matter. The question wasn’t one Beth needed the answer to. It was just a soft question she’d asked to start the conversation – a minor detail. Each of the questions she planned to ask would increase in importance, but it was necessary to foster a willingness to answer in what had become a hostile witness.

‘If he was staying with his mother, don’t you think it was odd that the mother didn’t report him missing?’

A confused expression covered Peter’s gaunt face and he looked to his sister for help. She wiped a tear from each eye before answering. ‘Maybe she is in Spain. She has a villa out there and I know Angus said she sometimes goes for a couple of months at a time.’

That was the kind of answer Beth had been hoping not to get.

‘What about his work? Wouldn’t his workmates have called him to find out where he was?’

‘He’s a self-employed builder. I dare say some of his customers would have called wanting to know where he was, but I guess he wouldn’t have been able to answer his phone.’

A knock at the door made them turn their heads.

Beth gave an inward curse at the interruption to her questioning, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Peter went to answer it and came back trailing Unthank and a young blonde who was introduced as ‘Kerrie the FLO’.

The FLO and Unthank crowded into the kitchen and shared polite nods with the sister.

‘So, Peter.’ Beth had to try again. ‘Angus was a self-employed builder. Do you know if he ever had any problems with customers? You know, unpaid bills or complaints about shoddy workmanship?’

‘No!’ If the one-word answer wasn’t emphatic enough, Peter’s head gave a violent shake.

‘What about the reason for his leaving Suzy, do you know anything about that? Did she kick him out or did he leave of his own accord?’

The head shake was less certain this time. ‘I kept out of it. They’d always be back together in a fortnight anyway, so I never got involved.’ He nudged his sister’s arm. ‘D’you know?’

Once again, tears had to be wiped away before an answer could be given. ‘He accused her of cheating on him.’ A sob. ‘She denied it, of course, but apparently he’d stormed out saying he was sick of being taken for a fool.’

‘He what? The hypocritical bastard had no right to accuse her of anything after what he did!’

Beth couldn’t let Peter’s comment pass. ‘What did he do?’

‘She caught him swapping gobs with some tart outside the pub.’

As much as she disliked Peter’s crude and derogatory terminology, Beth kept her face neutral. ‘When did this happen?’

‘A couple of years ago.’ Peter’s face twisted into a feral expression. ‘If that’s what he’s accused our Suze of, the bastard got everything he deserved.’

Peter may have felt that Angus kissing someone when his children were young was inexcusable, but it was not that unusual. The pressures of parenthood, not being the centre of attention in his wife’s world any more – it was a cliché but it happened more than people ever realised.

At once Beth saw a whole tangled web that would have to be unravelled. Was Peter imbued with a sense of anger that went beyond a brother’s concern for a bereaved sister? And if there was the possibility that Angus’s claims had any foundation, could that put Suzy’s alleged lover in the frame for his murder?

She realised what she needed to do was to get the sister alone to find out if there was any truth to the allegations of Suzy’s infidelity.

That said, while there was no doubt Angus had been killed, having seen his corpse, Beth couldn’t help but doubt it was a crime of passion. Too much thought and planning had gone into it. If her limited experience had taught her anything, it was that women who killed their spouses most often did so in a fit of temper fuelled by rage or self-defence. Angus’s body had shown no signs of impact wounds from either a blunt object or a weapon such as a knife. Though they hadn’t had a toxicology report yet, so perhaps it was too soon to make any assumptions. Women who carried out planned kills often used poison.

What troubled Beth most was the way Angus had been found. It just didn’t fit with a domestic killing and spoke of a deeper issue. On the other hand, it could be he was staged that way to throw all suspicion away from family members.

At this early point, Peter was her prime suspect. He seemed very angry and too quick to speak his mind for her liking. Grief can do strange things to people, but she had the feeling he’d been angry with Angus long before he was killed.

She heard the squeak of a door opening. ‘Peter, Harriet, can you come through, please?’

Both of her siblings stood to answer Suzy’s call.

Once they’d left the room, Beth requested Kerrie keep her eye on Peter, and also try to find out from the sister any details she could about Suzy’s alleged affair.

A huge part of the role of a Family Liaison Officer was to watch the family and listen for any slip-ups. Kerrie’s monitoring of the family would be invaluable and, once she’d established their trust, she’d get far more from them than Beth or even O’Dowd could hope to get in an interview room.

As Beth walked out to the car, she vowed to herself that she would be careful about which of her suspicions she shared with Unthank lest he pull the same stunt Thompson had. She didn’t think for a second that he would, but once bitten…