Audrey’s hatred for Dolly had taken her way off track, so Ridley endeavored to pull her back to the here and now.

“Mrs. Withey, please calm down. We’re not here to pin anything on Mike, nor do we think he’s running. Please sit down.” Audrey didn’t sit, but she did calm sufficiently for Ridley to continue. “We simply need to know if you and he spoke about the ’95 train robbery.”

“He said one thing worth remembering in ’95. He said, ‘She’s dead, mum.’ Now I’d like you to leave.”

Ridley ignored the request. He asked Audrey if Mike had ever mentioned a police officer called Norma Walker, and if she knew where his Range Rover was. All the while, Jack remained silent because this wasn’t a normal notification of death. This was also a tactical interview and, with Ridley about to play the heartless bad guy, it would be useful for Jack to remain neutral in Audrey’s eyes. So, for now, he played the silent, unobtrusive young DC in the corner. Audrey hardly noticed he was even there.

Ridley asked Audrey once more to sit down and, once more, she didn’t. He took a step closer to her and spoke with all of the respect and kindness he could muster for such an objectionable woman.

“Mrs. Withey, I regret to inform you that, several days ago, we found the body of a man, which, via DNA evidence, we’re now able to identify as your son, Mike.”

He had very purposefully taken a step closer to Audrey so that, when her legs crumpled beneath her, he could catch her and sit her back in her chair. Audrey collapsed like a rag doll and howled in agony at the loss of yet another child. Jack poured her a brandy, but she didn’t even notice. In the end, sheer exhaustion made her stop crying and become almost catatonic.

“Mrs. Withey.” Ridley’s words were met by a blank stare, but he hoped she could still hear him. “Someone took your son’s life and I want to arrest that person. Mike was mixed up in something, accidentally or knowingly, I don’t know yet. What I do know is that he was found in the home of Norma Walker, which was located next door to a house owned by Dolly Rawlins. And he was surrounded by evidence from a 24-year-old train robbery.”

Audrey’s eyes unglazed and she glared at Ridley.

“Get out,” she breathed, almost inaudibly.

“Is there anyone we can call for you?”

Audrey dipped her eyes and she was gone again. Ridley moved away; Jack put the brandy down on the nest of coffee tables by her side and both men left, pulling the front door to behind them.

In the hallway of Audrey’s block of flats, Ridley briefed Jack.

“Give it ten, then go back in. Apologize for me upsetting her—you be her friend. We need to know how much the villa in Spain sold for. Mike was the only one earning, so we need to know where that money came from. And see what she knows about Barry Cooper.”