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‘Kindness has nothing to do with it, Valentina. This is love. It has taken me far too long to realise, but I am in love with you. And Danjel, well, he’s like the son I never had, the son I wished for… a son I would consider it a privilege to be a father to. I want you both⁠—’

There was a rap at the door, startling them both.

It was Detective Vella. He tried to smile but didn’t achieve it. ‘Mrs Falzon, forgive me for arriving unannounced.’ He spoke English, having spotted she had company. ‘Mr Fox.’

Peter nodded. ‘Inspector Vella. Valentina, I’ll visit later – unless you need me here, Inspector?’

‘No. I came to see Mrs Falzon.’

Peter squeezed the top of her arm and left. She so desperately wanted to hear what he was going to say and now he was gone… again.

Valentina turned to the detective, hiding her annoyance at his horrible timing.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said in Maltese. ‘I did not mean to ambush you.’

Yes, you did, she thought. ‘That’s all right. It wasn’t an interruption. Peter was just keeping me company while Maria checked on her family.’

‘I see,’ he said, but she suspected he was sniffing around for some hint of guilt, either about Lawrenz’s death or her loyalty to him. ‘I saw your son outside.’

She nodded, but didn’t say anything.

When he realised that she was offering no more, he continued. ‘Odd no, that the boy is playing football when his father was just killed?’

‘Please come in.’ She gestured to a seat. They both sat, and this gave her time to find the right tone, the right words. ‘Inspector, my husband was not killed. He fell.’

He shrugged. ‘A turn of phrase.’

She frowned. No. His words had been deliberate. ‘A dangerous one,’ she said. ‘The fact is my husband died in an accident, a fall of his own doing, because of his own risky behaviour and because he was drunk. No one laid a hand on him.’ She hoped she would be forgiven for her cunning use of words; after all, it had been a foot.

‘I apologise. Let me rephrase.’

‘No need. So long as we both understand one another. To answer your question, Danjel is a child. His emotions do not behave in the same way as an adult, Inspector, surely you know this. Do you have children?’

He shook his head.

‘Well, I can assure you that children constantly surprise you with their emotions. Sometimes they weep over the slightest criticism, other times they go silent. They might laugh inappropriately, they might withdraw entirely. I think even as grown-ups we can’t tell how we’ll behave in shock. And Danjel is in shock, Inspector. He watched a man fall to his death. Now add to this that the man was his father and imagine how he’s feeling. I make no secret of the fact that father and son were not close. But that did not mean either wished harm on the other. We are a family, and that’s been fractured today. I can barely come to terms with it myself.’

She paused to draw breath, noting that his face was frozen in surprise.

‘I also make no secret of the fact that I did not love my husband and that he treated me poorly, but I was his wife and I have stood by him all these years. I have been loyal.’ She hoped she would be forgiven for the lies. ‘He was brutal and not well, I think. He was certainly an alcoholic. It doesn’t mean we are not shocked and sorrowful. Danjel asked if he could kick his football, and I said yes, because I think it gives him something to do while he works through what he witnessed and how he feels. All the better if one of his friends has come along to kick it with him.’

The inspector took a moment to realise she’d finished, then spoke, taking his time to choose his words. ‘Thank you for your full and enlightening response, Mrs Falzon. And Mr Fox?’

She frowned. ‘What about him?’

‘How is he?’

‘As traumatised as the rest of us. He is a kind man.’

‘He seems fond of you.’

‘Yes, as I told you, he was my friend from when I was a child. He knew my family well.’ She smiled in memory.

The inspector nodded and moved on. ‘You said we could look at your husband’s belongings and paperwork.’

‘I did. You are welcome to go ahead.’

‘Very good. May I call my team to start immediately, please?’