“Don’t fuck with me, Ffion. Huw what? What’s his last name?”
Ffion has underestimated Leo. She looks away. “Ellis.”
There’s a long pause. “You’re married to one of our murder suspects?”
“Separated.”
“I can see why.”
Anger flares inside Ffion. “Says the man who never sees his son.”
She regrets it the second it’s out. The hurt in Leo’s eyes turns to anger. “What did I ever see in you?”
“The feeling is entirely mutual.”
There’s a sound from the door. “Um…excuse me.” A custody officer is standing awkwardly in the doorway. “Yasmin Lloyd’s ready for interview.”
If the chairs in the interview room weren’t fixed to the floor, Ffion is sure Leo would move his farther away. She feels the tension coming off him in waves as she further arrests Yasmin on suspicion of murder.
“This is ridiculous.” Yasmin looks at Ffion and Leo in turn. “I didn’t kill my husband.”
“How long have you been in a relationship with Jonty Charlton?” Leo says.
There’s a long pause before Yasmin answers. “Six months. It started in the summer, when The Shore opened. It was only ever meant to be a bit of fun, although Jonty, of course, fell in love with me.” A tiny smile at the corners of her mouth suggests she sees such an occurrence as inevitable.
“That’s a classy way to celebrate your husband’s success,” Ffion says neutrally.
The solicitor coughs. “Are you here to interview my client or to debate her morality?”
Ffion ignores the interruption. “Who knew you were having an affair?”
“No one. We were very careful.”
“Not even Rhys?”
“Absolutely not.”
“How can you be so certain?” Leo says.
“Because if he’d found out, he’d have—” Yasmin breaks off. An ugly flush moves from her neck to her face like a rising tide.
Leo breaks into the silence. “Blythe Charlton says you and Rhys were arguing before the party on New Year’s Eve.”
“I was pissed off with him, that’s all. He’d been drinking all day. I found him on his knees in the middle of the road at one point. He was totally out of it.” Yasmin shakes her head. “So embarrassing.”
“Interesting,” Leo says, and Ffion’s pulse picks up, but Leo’s picking up the pathology report. “Because toxicology results suggest there was very little alcohol in your husband’s bloodstream. Did he take any other substances that day?”
“Rhys didn’t do drugs.”
“Let me rephrase that,” Leo says. “Did you give your husband any substances on the day of the party?”
Yasmin’s eyes widen. “What are you suggesting? That I drugged my husband?”
“We showed you a list of medication seized from your bedroom,” Ffion says. “Your reaction suggested you had something to hide.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There it is again: the same panicked look they’d seen at Glynis’s house.
Leo leans on the table. “Did you drug your husband?”