‘I don’t know what you mean by “familiar”. I detested him. He was an obnoxious man, and I had very little time for him – particularly recently as I believe he was getting out of control, or his drug abuse was. I know Justine was fearful as he would leave packets of drugs open in his bedroom. I had little or no interaction with him, and in all honesty, I would have liked to thrash him.’

‘Did you?’ Miller asked quickly.

‘No, I did not, probably due to the fact that he was a very fit man and could likely have beat the living daylights out of me.’

‘But he must have found your closeness to his wife, now his ex-wife, disturbing?’

‘He probably did,’ Henson said.

‘When was the last time you saw him?’ Miller asked quietly.

‘Probably a week or so before he was killed. I saw him pulling up outside, with his bloody dogs, and I made my escape.’

‘And how did Justine feel about that?’

‘What, about his bloody dogs or that I escaped?’

‘That you allowed Charles Foxley to stay at his ex-wife’s property even though you did not approve.’

‘Dear God! It was not a question of me approving; he would just turn up, whether she liked it or not.’

‘Are you the father of Clara, Justine’s daughter?’

Miller leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. ‘Well, I don’t know who suggested that, but I can tell you unequivocally that I am not Clara’s father.’ He smiled. ‘DI Miller, I can categorically state that I could not have fathered Clara because I had a vasectomy after the birth of my second son. He is now in his twenties, so I suggest you do the maths.’

Spencer had to hand it to Henson, he had answers for everything.

Henson then leaned forward and his tone became more serious and even emotional. ‘All I have ever done is care for Justine deeply for many years. She is one of the sweetest, most generous and, at one time, the most talented of people. As someone who adored her, I had to watch as Charles Foxley caused her such pain and anguish. Sadly, no matter what I said or what any of her friends said, she would always side with him. In my opinion, she could see the darkness in him and ultimately felt pity for him.’

Miller wrote a few sentences in his notebook, trying to look as if he was still in control, but the truth was, the interview had been a disaster. He hoped Tyler was having better luck with Justine Harris.

*

At 8:15 a.m. Darren McDermott was in his Bentley waiting for the station yard gates to be opened to allow him entry. There were still two persistent journalists hanging around, but the rest of the paparazzi had left. A uniformed officer led him into the station, where DCI Tyler was waiting.