As she pulled onto the main road, the new pieces began to arrange themselves. Josh had repaid Kath and Gareth and taken out the shonky loan at the same time. Had there been a Polish order at all or had he taken the loan at punishing interest to pay back his sister? But how had he repaid that? The couple of grand Kev had given him for the scrap might have covered a payment – ten payments, two grand a pop plus interest? But he must have been in a tight spot to go to Kev in the first place, it occurred to her now: Josh was proud and he knew Kev had held a torch for Corinna. He must have bristled to some extent at having to go to him cap in hand. And assuming that had dealt with one payment, what about the other nine?

‘Just be careful,’ said Maggie suddenly. ‘Listen to me on that at least.’

Valerie had clearly been expecting them. She burst into tears the moment she opened the front door and she led them down the hall to the kitchen without a word. She looked terrified, dark eyes wide, shoulders hunched as if she were about to spring into a defensive ball, hedgehog-style. The room had changed since the first times they’d seen it. It wasn’t filthy but standards were slipping. A dirty milk pan had been left on the hob and the work surface around the kettle was now patterned with Spirograph tannin circles.

‘So I’m guessing you know why we’re here,’ said Maggie.

Valerie looked at the floor. ‘You’ve spoken to Harry.’

‘We’ve just come from his office.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, with a sob. ‘I didn’t mean … I’m in such a state. I …’

‘What did you say to him, Valerie?’

She bowed her head, her chin almost touching her chest. ‘I called him a black bastard,’ she mumbled.

‘He said you also accused him of giving Becca drugs.’

‘But you said that! You said she’d got them from who she was … sleeping with.’

‘Valerie,’ said Maggie, a little more softly, ‘you told us yourself that Becca played the field. I distinctly remember telling you we believed she’d started taking morphine last summer – early last summer. And you told us – and we’ve confirmed – that she had a whole relationship between then and now with someone other than Harry. Nick. Who, by the way, also had nothing to do with the drugs, just to eliminate any confusion there. So I don’t accept it was a mistake.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I said I’m sorry.’

Maggie ignored her. ‘I want to be clear: I’m taking this very seriously. I won’t tolerate racism, and no amount of worry is an excuse. Do you understand me?’

A quiet ‘Yes.’

‘Valerie?’

‘Yes.’ Slightly louder.

‘Another hint of it, we’ll resign from your case immediately, we won’t hesitate.’

Silence.