Paula’s response was markedly different. She snatched her emergency cigarette packet from the door pocket of the car and lit up.

Dave grimaced as the smoke blew across his face. He half-turned away from Paula towards Fielding. ‘Her preliminary opinion is that the thumbprint on Bev’s phone could have come from Tony Hill.’

‘Could have?’ Fielding was clearly disappointed. ‘You can’t do better than that?’

‘It was a rush job. Obviously she’ll be looking at it again.’

Paula’s chest was tight with fear. These days, there was always room for doubt with fingerprints. No CPS lawyer would give the thumbs-up to a case that rested solely on fingermarks. But as a consolidation, it was still rock-solid where juries were concerned. And would a jury be so wrong? It was unimaginable to her, but what else but guilt could explain DNA and fingerprint evidence?

Tony had spent the half-hour of Paula and Fielding’s absence racking his brains for an explanation as to how his blood had ended up on Nadia Wilkowa’s cuff and he’d drawn a blank. It didn’t help that he was feeling anxious. Stress was an enemy of recollection. Tranquillity, that was how you got the memories to flow. Not being wound up to a pitch.

When they finally returned, he practically jumped to his feet. ‘This is crazy,’ he said. ‘Paula, we’ve known each other for years. You know I didn’t kill anyone.’

‘Sit down, Dr Hill,’ Fielding said. ‘This isn’t about how well any of us knows you. It’s about following the evidence where it leads us. And right now, it’s only leading us in one direction.’ She plonked her folder down on the table and drew a piece of paper out of it. ‘Let’s see what you make of this, shall we? You know what that is?’

‘It’s a fingerprint. Kind of smudged, but it’s a fingerprint.’

‘Actually, it’s a thumbprint. The right thumb, to be exact. And so is this.’ She proffered a printout of an official print card. ‘Identical, I think you’d have to agree?’

This was starting to feel very uncomfortable. ‘I have no expertise,’ Tony said, his lips tight.

‘You don’t need expertise, you only need eyes. The print on the official record card was freely given by you just over three years ago. The other one was lifted from the back of Bev McAndrew’s phone earlier today.’

There was a long silence. Tony could hear his blood pounding in his ears. The wheels were going round but they were gaining no traction. ‘When did she go missing?’ he asked, trying to buy time.

‘She left work on Monday at the usual time. Shortly after half past five,’ Paula said.

He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I think I was at a meeting in Bradfield Cross on Monday afternoon… I need to check my diary.’