‘You know she had to identify the body?’ Pelham said. ‘I went with her, but I bottled it. Poor love had to do it all by herself. I keep thinking,’ her voice rose shakily, ‘should we maybe have been a bit more … I mean, if we’d let him stay, calmed him down …’

Hendry took one of her hands and gave it a squeeze.

‘None of this is your fault, Stephanie,’ Clarke said quietly. ‘Nor is it Cheryl’s.’

‘Then why drag us here?’

‘It’s just a formality. You can get through it, the pair of you. Gina will keep you right.’

Hendry leaned forward a little, angling her head to get Pelham’s attention. ‘Tell DI Clarke what you told me, Stephanie.’

‘It’s nothing.’

Hendry turned towards Clarke. ‘A few days back, we were chatting over a glass, talking fabrics and interiors, and Stephanie mentioned that she’d done a bit of work for QC Lettings. That’s the company Francis was renting from, isn’t it?’

‘I just did a few of their more upmarket properties,’ Pelham qualified.

‘So you know the Mackenzies?’ Clarke asked, glancing towards where Dickinson and Fox had been standing.

‘My ex and Fraser go back a ways,’ Pelham admitted. ‘We used to wine and dine together, the same parties and charity bashes – you know how it is.’ Clarke nodded so she would keep talking. ‘Beth got me to do a bit of work on her house. That went well, so then she got the idea of adding a bit of value to some of the flats.’

‘Including the one where Francis …’

She gave a vigorous shake of the head. ‘I was busy elsewhere when that came up.’

‘So Francis would have known the Mackenzies too, would he?’ Clarke nudged.

‘To talk to, yes, I suppose so. He wasn’t one for black-tie events, though – or dinner parties, come to that, not unless they involved half a dozen of his pals from Tynecastle. Cheryl often had to come along on her own – on those rare occasions he’d let her out of his sight.’ Pelham stared at the interview room door. ‘What are they doing in there?’

‘I’m sure she’s being looked after,’ Clarke said, gesturing to Hendry that she had to get back to work. Hendry offered a smile of thanks, while Pelham glanced down at the blank screen of her phone, which she was clutching in both hands as if it was a prayer book. ‘We have your other phone, by the way,’ Clarke informed her. ‘We’ll get it back to you soon.’

‘Christ, no thanks.’ Pelham gave a shudder. ‘Everything I need from it I can transfer from the cloud.’

‘I know you said it required facial recognition, but I assume there’s a passcode too?’

‘Cheryl’s birthday.’ Pelham was studying Clarke. ‘Why?’

‘The footage of the home invasion,’ Clarke explained. ‘It’ll have audio, unlike the CCTV.’

‘Fill your boots.’