“Get some fresh air,” he said to Sole. “It looks like it’s going to be a long day.”

* * *

Taylor’s mobile phone buzzed on the bedside table. She opened her eyes and winced. She had forgotten to draw the curtains before she’d fallen into bed. She could still smell smoke on the duvet and pillow. She picked up the phone.

“Taylor,” said Killian’s voice “where are you?”

“I’m still in bed. It’s seven in the morning.”

“Two guys from the fire department found a body in the house that burned down. It’s not a pretty sight. I’ll meet you there.”

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, she parked outside Dennis Albarn’s house in Polgarrow. She stared at the smouldering ruins. Killian was talking to a uniformed firefighter.

“Morning,” she said. “Do we know what happened yet?”

“Looks like the gas stove blew up,” the firefighter replied.

“This is Geoff Harding,” Killian told her. “He’s the station chief in Trotterdown. Geoff, meet DC Harriet Taylor.”

“Please to meet you, Miss Taylor,” Harding said. “We think the gas stove was left on and something ignited it. It would explain why everything went up so quickly.”

“I heard the explosion. It was deafening. I was sitting in my car just down the road.”

Killian looked surprised. “What were you doing in Polgarrow last night?”

“I went to the Old Boar. I wanted to see if I could find out more about Peter Sugden.” She’d explain the full story to Killian another time.

“You work too hard.”

“Do we know who was inside the house?”

“There’s not much left of them,” said Harding. “I suppose it’ll rest on dental records. The teeth look intact.”

“The house belongs to Dennis Albarn,” Killian reminded her. “We actually spoke to him recently.”

“I remember. How soon before we find out if it’s him or not?”

“Later this morning. It turns out Albarn had some work done on his teeth when he was in prison. They’re sending over his dental records as we speak.”

“How’s your wife doing?” Taylor asked.

“Not good, I’m afraid. They’re going to keep her in for a few days to run some tests.”

“If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”

“Thanks. Anyway, we’ve got a lot to get through. If we don’t get anything out of Sugden I’m afraid we’re going to have to let him go.”

“What about the evidence?”

“All circumstantial. His lawyer knows we have nothing concrete.”

“Duncan reckons he can prise the truth out of him.”

“I’m not letting him near Sugden, in the mood he’s in,” Killian said. “Let’s get back and get it over with.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

PC Eric White pounced on Killian as soon as he and Taylor walked through the door.

“Sir, we’ve got a positive ID on the body they found in the house. It was Dennis Albarn. No doubt about it. The dental records don’t lie.”

“The poor man,” Taylor said. “Awful way to die.”

“It looks like he accidentally left the gas on,” Eric said, “and something set it off.”

“How’s the prisoner this morning?” Killian asked.

“Irritable. Like a bear with a sore head. He keeps moaning about not being able to smoke in the holding cells.”

“Good. I want you to arrange for his solicitor to get here as soon as possible. Taylor and I are going to have another crack at him.”

“I’ll do it right away.” White walked off.

Taylor’s phone rang. She didn’t recognise the number on the screen. “Sorry to trouble you,” said Alice Green, “but you asked me to ring if I thought of anything else regarding Peter Sugden.”

“It’s no problem. What is it?”

“It didn’t strike me as odd at the time, but in light of everything that’s happened, I thought you might want to know.”

“What is it?”

“A while ago — two or three weeks, thereabouts — I saw Sugden acting strangely around Milly’s car. I didn’t pay it much attention at the time.”

“What do you mean by acting strangely?”

“He was lingering by it. It looked as if he was checking the doors and windows out, but he moved away quickly when he noticed me watching him. It might not mean anything but I thought you’d want to know.”

“Thank you, Alice. We’ll be talking to him again this morning. I’ll be sure to ask him about it.”

“There’s something else I thought you might want to know,” Alice added. “Stanley phoned last night. He asked me if I wanted to meet him.”

“That’s great news.”

“I told him to bugger off,” Alice said and rang off.

* * *

Peter Sugden was led to the interview room an hour later. His solicitor was otherwise engaged but Sugden had agreed to do the interview without him.

“I trust you slept well,” Killian said.

“I hardly slept at all. I need a cigarette.” Sugden looked awful. His eyes were puffy and red, with huge bags, and his face was ash-grey.

“You can have a smoke when we’re finished in here,” Killian promised. “I’ll have one of the PCs escort you outside.”

“This is outrageous, the way I’ve been treated. It’s barbaric. I’m not a criminal.”

“That’s to be decided.” Killian turned on the recording device. “Interview with Peter Sugden commenced ten fifteen. Present, DI Jack Killian and DC Harriet Taylor. Mr Sugden, have you thought of anything else you’d like to tell us?”

“I didn’t lay a hand on Milly,” Sugden insisted. “I wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone someone as nice as Milly.”

“We’ve already established that you were with Mrs Lancaster the night she disappeared,” Killian told him. “You lied about going to the pub that night and the tool that was used to jam the locks on her car was found at your house.”

“We’ve also had some new information come to light,” Taylor added. “A while ago, you were seen hanging around Milly Lancaster’s car. It looked as if you were examining the doors.”

“What? Who told you that?”

“That’s not important,” said Killian. “If I were to hazard a guess, I would say you were trying to figure out how you could jam the locks. Did you plan all of this in advance?”

“Plan what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Let me tell you what I think, and you can stop me if I’m on the wrong track. I think Milly made you angry when she rejected your advances and you wanted to teach her a lesson. You confronted her and things got out of hand. You drove up to Merryhead and pushed Milly and her car over the cliff.”

“How did you get back that night?” Taylor asked.

“Back from where? I didn’t go anywhere near Merryhead that night. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I really need a cigarette.”

“Not yet,” Killian said. “How did you get back to Polgarrow from Merryhead after you’d dumped the car? It’s a five-mile hike.”

“I didn’t do it. I haven’t walked five miles in years.” He certainly didn’t look as if he could walk very far at all.

“If someone drove you back, we’ll find out,” Killian went on. “Why don’t you tell us what happened? We have enough evidence, but I want to know why you did it. You’ll feel better for it.”

Taylor knew he was clutching at straws.

“I’ll feel better when I’ve had a cigarette,” Sugden said. “I’m not confessing to something I haven’t done.”

“Interview with Peter Sugden over.” Killian switched off the machine. “You’re free to go.”

Sugden looked at Killian in disbelief. “I can go home?”

“Yes, but don’t get any ideas about going anywhere for a while. We’ll be keeping an eye on you. I’ll get someone to drop you off at your home.”

Sugden jammed an unlit cigarette between his lips and left the interview room.

“You don’t think he did it, do you?” Taylor asked Killian.

“No. He’s a repulsive specimen of a human being but I reckon he was telling the truth back there.”