Lucinda pulled her hand from his but didn’t move away.
Kim was sorry for the fact that this was going to get a whole lot worse.
‘It’s not what you think, sweetheart,’ he said, trying to reclaim her hand.
Kim considered cutting him off, but she was curious to see the depth of the hole he was going to dig for himself, so she remained silent.
‘I didn’t want to worry you, so I haven’t said anything. She’s a friend of Abby’s. I made contact with her a few weeks ago. She agreed to keep me informed about the boys and Abby’s mental health.’
Oh, that was a good one. She had to hand it to him for his creativity. What he hadn’t thought about was the coincidence of a friend of Abby’s being a honey trapper from the company that Lucinda had likely hired to test his fidelity.
‘I knew what you’d think if I told you I was meeting a woman behind your back, but I swear that it’s all to do with the boys. She says that Abby is doing okay and the kids are fine. Come on, love – you know how worried I’ve been.’
Kim could see how desperate Lucinda was to believe him. Kim was about to destroy that.
‘We have audio, Mr Butler. Nadine Cowley was recording your conversation.’
And that was the moment the colour dropped from his face.
Kim turned her attention to Lucinda, who was fighting back tears.
‘You must have suspected, Mrs Butler, or you wouldn’t have contracted Images to carry out the honey trap.’
She nodded as the tears rolled over her cheeks. ‘I hoped he’d prove me wrong,’ she said, moving away and going to stand at the window.
‘I’ve listened to the audio, Mrs Butler, and without giving too much detail, I’m afraid to say that he didn’t.’
Lucinda nodded but didn’t turn.
‘We also heard your anger and threats when Nadine revealed who she was.’
After glancing at his wife’s back, Joe knew he had stepped into a hole that he’d dug for himself.
‘I didn’t want to lose my wife. Yes, I was angry – who wouldn’t be?’
‘And what did you do when you left the pub?’ Kim asked.
‘I took a minute in the car to calm down, and then I came home. I intended to tell Lucinda everything, and I’ve been trying to find the courage ever since.’
‘How long did it take you to calm down?’
‘A minute or two, why?’
‘Did you see Nadine leave the pub?’
He shook his head.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Inspector, what’s this about?’
‘The woman you met yesterday, the one you were raging at, was stabbed to death in that car park.’
Lucinda’s head whipped round.
‘No, no, no, it wasn’t… I swear… I would never… Luce, I wouldn’t…’
‘Joseph Butler, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murders of Ashley Reynolds and Nadine Cowley.’
