Tony frowned, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two women. ‘Because that’s where Bev was most likely to have gone shopping after work. It was a reasonable hypothesis that her abductor might have acquired her there.’

‘And how did you know all that?’

‘Because Paula told me.’ The ‘duh’ was unspoken, but Paula heard it loud and clear.

Fielding gave Paula a look of angry perplexity. Tony realised he might have dropped Paula in it even more than himself. Was this what all this was about? Was Fielding using him to destroy Paula?

‘DS McIntyre?’ Her expression was certainly severe enough for his theory to be on the money.

Paula wasn’t conceding ground, however. She spoke clearly and confidently. ‘I talked to Dr Hill after Bev went missing. I wanted to see if he had any suggestions that might help me trace her. I spoke as a friend of the family. Not as a police officer. It was barely a police case at that point.’

Fielding’s grim expression indicated that Paula hadn’t heard the last of this. ‘So you decided to mount your own investigation, Dr Hill?’

‘Not really. I needed a walk, I needed some shopping. Bev was at the back of my mind, that’s all that was going on.’ He leaned forward, his expression pained. ‘Am I a suspect here?’

‘At this point, we’re just trying to resolve some issues,’ Fielding said.

Tony wondered again what those issues were. Surely there were easier ways to bump Paula off the case, if that was what Fielding wanted? Perhaps he needed to be a little more proactive. With his skills, he should be able to control this interview. He tried his best conciliatory smile. ‘Only, if I’m a suspect, why would I call Paula and suggest looking at the bus CCTV? Why would I help your investigation?’

Fielding sat back. ‘If you figured it was going to come out anyway – which it would have, once we had a full-scale murder investigation under way – you’d be diverting suspicion by pointing us in the right direction.’ She let a tiny smile escape. ‘Plus, aren’t you profilers always telling us that killers like to inject themselves into the investigation? Seems to me that’s one interpretation of what you did with DS McIntyre.’

Tony gave a self-mocking groan. ‘Hoist by my own petard, eh?’ He paused, frowning. ‘What is a petard anyway? I’ve often wondered.’

‘It’s a bomb,’ Fielding said. ‘Stop trying to derail this interview, Dr Hill.’

‘Busted,’ he said, offering Paula a rueful look.

Fielding passed a couple of sheets of paper to Paula, who laid them on the table facing Tony. She tapped one. ‘That’s Nadia Wilkowa.’ And the second. ‘That’s Bev McAndrew. Have you met either of these women?’