Nicola King has always been hard to fool, but this time her terrifying sensitivity has hit upon the big secret that Ray Walters is trying to hide at all costs.

The story begins with a detail that no one seems to have noticed: Ray has given a wrong time to be at the village center.

Nicola — having overheard it — realizes that it doesn’t match the schedule she saw the day before. And so, suspicions arise.

Nicola begins to follow Ray. At the cafe, in the shop, even when he’s standing in the car park.

Every little thing Ray does makes Nicola write it down in her “suspicion book.” In particular, the time she saw Ray exchange envelopes with a stranger — that confirms that Ray is up to something.

When Nicola presses Ray to confront him, he gets confused, evasive, then angry: “You’re imagining things.” But anyone who has watched Emmerdale for long enough knows: that means it’s a real crime.

Nicola refuses to give up. She throws a piece of paper — a photocopy from the shop’s camera — onto the table, capturing Ray leaving the village at the exact time he claimed to be “home.”

Ray freezes.

From that moment, Nicola knows she’s hit on Ray’s biggest fear. She looks him straight in the eye and says slowly, “I know you’re hiding something. And I’m going to find out.”

The drama is expected to expand when Nicola accidentally touches Celia’s line — making her the new target.

In Emmerdale, anyone who touches a secret makes themselves the prey. And Nicola is now walking straight into the eye of the storm, eyes wide open.