‘I appreciate you see the world through the prism of the psyche, but could we focus on the evidential reasons why Fielding arrested you? Tony?’

When he’d sat in the observation room and watched Bronwen Scott in action, Tony had often wondered how different she was with her clients than when she was an opponent. Tougher than he’d expected, was the first answer. She wasn’t falling for his practised skills and she wasn’t indulging him. Time to return her moves in the same style. ‘The bodies of two murdered women have been found this week. For the record, I didn’t kill either of them. They were both brutally beaten, to the point where their faces were unrecognisable. Their labia were shaved and glued together. There’s no obvious connection between the two of them, although there might be a professional link. Nadzieja Wilkowa was single and Polish, she worked as a rep for a pharmaceutical company. Bev McAndrew was divorced, mother of a teenage son, and she was the pharmacist in charge at Bradfield Cross Hospital.’ He stopped. ‘You’re not taking notes.’

‘I’ll get all this in disclosure from Fielding. At this point, it’s interesting to have the background but I want to know where you come into the picture. And your version of events, of course.’

Carol raised a finger, indicating she wanted to speak. Scott nodded briskly. ‘How much of this did you know before Fielding questioned you?’

She hadn’t lost a yard of her pace, he thought, impressed with the question. ‘I knew quite a bit about Nadia Wilkowa. And I knew Bev was missing. She’s a friend of Paula’s and she asked my advice about her disappearance. I wasn’t much help. But in the course of that conversation, we talked about Nadia.’ He gave Carol a pained smile. ‘Actually, she took me to Nadia’s flat.’

‘Oh, Christ,’ Scott said. ‘So your prints and DNA are going to be all over the victim’s flat?’

‘I was gloved up,’ Tony said. ‘I’m not entirely hopeless. There shouldn’t be any obvious DNA traces. But DNA is one of the issues. There’s a bloodstain on Nadia’s jacket that has tested positive for my DNA.’ Carol nodded wearily, but Scott merely looked resigned. ‘When they interviewed me, I had no idea how that happened. But I’ve had time to think, and I can explain it.’

‘I’m pleased to hear that. So how did it come about?’ Scott leaned forward, fixing him with her attention.