At 11:16 p.m. the homeless man, presumably having committed the dastardly deed, scurries out of the alley, turning left before picking up speed and hobbling as fast as he can towards the town centre. Interestingly, he is hatless. He can’t have lost it during the attack, because Martin would’ve found it whilst sweeping the alleyway for forensic clues, which makes me think the attacker must’ve stowed it in his bag.

This footage is invaluable as it gives us a massive clue which could make all the difference to the case; there is not a hair on his head. The light from the moon bounces off his bald head as he exits the frame.

My gaze drops from the screen and I consider what I’ve just watched and how important this video may prove to be. We now have a time of death and a prime suspect with a number of very distinguishing features. My musing is interrupted by a flash of movement on the screen. Another figure is exiting the alley, a lot slower than the homeless man.

I’d forgotten about the mysterious, hooded figure that had entered the alley over an hour ago. He has pulled his hood down and it is now resting on his shoulders, his bushy hair exposed. Just as he approaches the pub door, he wanders into a pool of light which illuminates his face. He seems to notice this and glances up at the streetlight, then pulls his hood up again and sets off at pace, in the opposite direction to the homeless man. I rewind the video, pause it on the image of his face and my eyes widen in disbelief.

17

‘You’re sure it was Ben?’ Liam asks, pressing the indicator down.

‘100%’ I reply. I’ve spent the journey to Ed’s house describing, in detail, my findings from the CCTV footage received from the pub. He waits for a number of cars to pass, before pulling across the road and into the quiet cul-de-sac in the west of the city.

He crawls along, seeking out house numbers, using the controls on the wheel to lower the volume of the radio, as if the noise level could somehow affect the performance of his eyes. The houses that line the street are extravagant and spacious, mostly two storey red brick structures with sloped roofs and at least one garage, though most have a sports car or an upmarket 4x4 parked on their driveway. A few modern constructions have appeared on some plots, the kind you’d watch visionaries assemble from state-of-the-art materials on Grand Designs, much to the annoyance of the owners of the more traditional abodes.

‘Sounds like we need a chat with the filmmaker prodigy,’ says Liam, echoing my own thoughts.

A huge, pebble-dashed house at the end of the street bears the number forty-two - Ed’s house. Liam pulls up on the street at the bottom of a steep driveway, which leads to a double garage and a wide, rose red front door flanked by stone pillars. The elevated position of the house in relation to the end of the street lends it a rather regal quality.