As soon as he was in the house he rang Sonia, asking her to come in early the following morning so that he could try out a theory on her. The call was cut short by a single, tentative knock on the door. It was Anya. Sarah arrived by taxi just as he was showing her in and there were a few minutes of flustered half-sentences as Anya gushed apologies and Sarah gushed reassurances. They sat at the kitchen table and Charles opened a bottle of French dry white. Sarah asked Anya about her job, which led to a discussion about the merits and demerits of law as a profession, of City firms in particular and of the changes in legal training that Anya was now undergoing. Finding his glass nearly empty and embarrassed to pour another while the others had barely sipped theirs, Charles interrupted. ‘What was it you wanted to talk about?’

Anya ceased smiling and took a long sip at her own wine. ‘I am worried about my sister and Abdul – Daniel. They had a very nice dinner here with you, I know. I heard from her and she enjoyed it very much. And she and Abdul are very happy together. They love each other, I am sure. But – it feels disloyal to say this but I don’t know who else I can say it to and I don’t want to get Daniel into trouble with the police for something that may be quite innocent. I hope you can, in your position, stop that happening, Mr Thoroughgood?’

Charles now poured himself more wine. ‘I have no executive authority. I can’t interfere if a crime has been committed. Indeed, I have an obligation to report it, as any other citizen has. That said, I’ll happily advise or help in any way I can. But I need to know what we’re talking about.’

Sarah got some cheese biscuits and crisps from the cupboard and poured them into glass bowls.