‘You set up covert recording equipment in your own house?’ McKenna says, one eyebrow raised.

‘Yes. Because of everything he’s been doing to me. I’ve had to. I’m not crazy. I had to do it because of the things he does, because of who he is.’

‘Can you tell us any specifics?’

‘Yeah. He’s tried to break me up with my friends. He stole some jewellery from my nan’s house and tried to make out it was me.’

‘Jewellery?’

‘A necklace.’

‘When was this?’

‘Uh, about six weeks ago I think.’

‘Can you talk us through what happened?’

‘My nan died,’ I say. ‘She’d been ill for a while. She had dementia. There was a necklace she always wore. Amethyst. I always really liked it, and when she died it went missing. My parents blamed me, but I hadn’t gone anywhere near it. Tom took it.’

‘How do you know he took it?’

‘It was in the coffee jar in our kitchen.’

McKenna nods slowly. ‘Okay. That doesn’t necessarily mean it was him, though, does it?’

‘It couldn’t have been anyone else.’

‘Could you potentially have done it and, I don’t know, forgotten about it? Had some sort of memory lapse?’

‘No. Definitely not.’

‘Have you had memory lapses in the past?’

‘No.’

McKenna and Brennan share a look.

‘Let’s talk about life in general. How about work. Do you work?’

‘Sort of. Not at the moment.’

‘Oh? Why’s that?’

I sigh, and feel Brian squirm beside me. ‘I’m suspended.’

‘What for?’

‘Officially? Gross misconduct. I sent an email to my boss about a client, and apparently sent it to the client as well.’

‘An angry email?’

‘I guess.’

‘Aggressive?’

‘I’d say more sarcastic. I’m not an aggressive person. But I don’t know how it ended up with the client. I didn’t do it. I didn’t send it.’

‘Does anyone else have access to your emails?’

I think about this for a moment. ‘Well, no. But I think Tom hacked in somehow.’

‘Hacked in?’

‘Yeah. I don’t know how it works, but I can’t think of any other explanation.’

‘Is it possible you could have sent it accidentally? Or perhaps you forgot that you’d done it?’

I narrow my eyes and shake my head. ‘No. No, that’s not possible.’

‘And what about while you’re suspended from work, Grace? How are things financially?’

‘Well, not great, obviously. Mum and Dad were contributing towards my mortgage, but now they’re not.’

‘Because of the falling out?’

‘No. Well, sort of. It was before then. There was another falling out.’

‘And is this necklace valuable, do you know?’

‘I’ve got no idea. I wouldn’t have a clue. Are you trying to accuse me of something? Because there’s no way in hell I’d ever consider selling that necklace, even if it was mine, and even if it was worth a million pounds. It’s worth far more to me than that. Listen, you need to speak to a detective in Cornwall. Her name’s Jess Caton. She knows all about Tom. She’s investigated him.’