Pankhurst Tower was a mirror image of Maclintock, right down to the scuffed paintwork and the slow lifts. In the middle of the afternoon session of conference, it was deserted. Room 403 seemed no different, for Lindsay’s knock met with silence. She looked a question at Sophie, who shrugged eloquently, and tried the handle. The door was, unsurprisingly, locked. Lindsay cast her eyes upwards and hammered loudly on the door. Still there was no response. Exasperated, she took a quick look around to check they were still alone, then bellowed, “Jed! I know you’re in there.”

Her voice echoed in the corridor, but the door remained obstinately shut.

“Jed, open up!” Lindsay yelled through the keyhole. “Brian sent me. I’m on your side, for God’s sake! Come on, Jed.”

“Dear God, you sound like the Sweeney. Let me try,” Sophie said. She stooped and called softly, “Jed, please open up and listen to what we’ve got to say. We’re not going away until we’ve spoken to you, so why don’t you just open up and we can have a quiet chat face to face rather than screaming through the door so the whole world can hear.”

She stepped back. For a moment, nothing happened. Lindsay had got as far as, “So much for softly, softly . . .” when they heard the key turning in the lock.

“You were saying?” Sophie murmured as the door opened a couple of inches.

Jed couldn’t keep his eyes still. They flicked between the two women nervously. “Who are you? What do you want? I’ve got nothing to say,” he gabbled.

“I’m Lindsay Gordon. And this is my girlfriend, Sophie Hartley,” she said. “It was my window that Union Jack was pushed out of this morning. I need to talk to you, Jed.”

“I’ve already told the police all I know. I was asleep. I’d gone to bed drunk and I didn’t hear a thing.”

“Can we come in for a minute, Jed?” Sophie asked gently. “I really don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interests to have this conversation in the corridor. Anybody could step out of the lift, and we genuinely don’t want to cause you any more awkwardness.”

Lindsay couldn’t help admiring Sophie’s style. Considering she was the one who’d made her living out of persuading the reluctant to talk, it was remarkable how much she still had to learn from her lover. Slowly, Jed opened the door and stepped back. Before he could have second thoughts, Lindsay was past him and sitting in the armchair.