‘Well, you’re certainly not, not any more. Mr . . . please I can’t think straight, not now, I can’t remember anything. I’m exhausted, I’m a mother who found her daughter hanging from the stair rail and watched her pronounced dead, I saw her stop breathing. I don’t understand it and I’m beyond explaining it and I am beyond crying but I realise you need to know.’

Serrailler had been in numerous emotionally stressful and difficult family situations. It was never easy and, surprisingly often, it was embarrassing.

‘I’m sorry, of course you’re beyond answering or even talking any more. I’ll call you tomorrow, and if you feel up to sparing fifteen minutes at some point I’d be grateful because I’m sure you understand we need to cover everything and do it as soon as possible. But not tonight. Try and get some rest . . . and this card has the station contact details and also my own mobile number. That gets me or a voicemail, no one else, and if you need anything, to ask questions, to talk it through, please ring me, doesn’t matter when, and if I’m not available, leave a message and I’ll get back to you the second I can.’

‘Thank you, but I won’t trouble you. I’ll think of anything I can to answer your questions tomorrow.’

‘But there’s really nothing to say, is there?’ Jeff Tonks said. ‘Nothing to know. Liv hanged herself, God knows the reason, but why is it a police matter?’ For the first time, Jeff was in control of himself, and he was angry.

‘Firstly, there has to be a coroner’s inquest, Mr Tonks. The coroner will need any information you or others can provide to help him – though the initial inquest will be held as soon as possible and it will be opened and then adjourned straight away, while we make inquiries. There’s one other thing I need to tell you. At the moment, because there is no note or any other communication from Olivia to you or, so far as we know at the moment, to anyone else, we can’t rule out other possibilities. Someone else may have been involved.’

‘How can they have been? No one else was here.’

‘It seems not but we can’t be certain until the forensic investigators have been in. This means they will come here, they will take your fingerprints – and yours, Mr Tonks – for elimination purposes and then they’ll do a full sweep of the scene and of the other rooms, of all the doors and windows, in case there are anyone else’s prints. Can you tell me if you have another person in here regularly – a cleaner, for example?’

‘No. There’s no one.’

‘No friends, family, neighbours, workmen – no one has been here recently, especially in the last few days?’

‘No.’