Quickly she outlined her own further research into Joel Kowalski, from arrival in the country to his recent issues at work and related accommodation with Streatham Motors, adding that after interviewing his former colleagues, she was confident Kowalski hadn’t returned to the house on Danbrook Road since being suspended, a few days before he was murdered.

She also reiterated what they knew so far about the other two victims, before turning to Aaron. ‘So, any fresh news about William Tennent?’

‘Yeah.’ The sergeant sat up slightly straighter, unconsciously rubbing his left side where he’d been stabbed a couple of months earlier, in an uncharacteristically gallant attempt to stop their last psychopathic problem. ‘I’ve been looking into Tennent’s history. No convictions beyond a few teenage misdemeanours. Bank account and phone records show no suspicious activity in the last three years, and his current entrepreneurial interests all appear to have been going well. I haven’t fathomed exactly what he did, but basically it was IT consultancy, selling advice and marketing services to other tech companies; hardly the kind of thing people get killed over. I’m still waiting for his MasterCard statements, but the issuer says he paid the balance every month.’

Hawkins nodded. ‘Social media?’

‘Sorry, thought I covered that.’ Aaron drummed his lap while he dredged up information Hawkins was sick of telling him to write down. ‘We haven’t cracked his phone yet, but I’ve been on to the networks. Main ones were Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and a bunch of gay dating apps. Mostly pictures of other geezers’ tackle. Nothing threatening.’

She looked at Amala. ‘How about Colin Wilson?’

‘Pretty similar, actually.’ Amala finished making a note on her pad, which looked brand new, aside from the fact over half the pages were already folded back against her thigh. ‘Also no criminal record, although he did have a few legal run-ins, post-separation with his ex over the kids. There was never any suggestion of violence or foul play on either side, so we’d need some kind of link between her and the other two victims before she’s worth a closer look. Financially he’s clean, but I couldn’t find him on social media. He was a regular internet user, but his search history is mainly work-related – regular journalist stuff, I suppose.’

Hawkins added a few annotations to the investigation board. ‘What sort of thing did he cover? The ID card we found at the murder scene didn’t specify.’

Amala flipped back a few pages in her pad. ‘A cross-section, really, which is probably part of being a freelancer. I guess he filled in wherever his clients were short. His last three articles were a charity half-marathon, a long-running court case that just concluded, and the vandalization of a local light aircraft.’

Hawkins eyed her. ‘What was the court case?’