Scott sighed. ‘Probably. So far, I’ve not had any calls. But Fielding kept this very quiet and the overnight custody sergeant is notorious for hating the media. That won’t last once the dayshift briefing happens. You’re almost certainly going to get screwed over. All the Jacko Vance stuff will be raked up again.’ She nodded towards Carol. ‘They might come after you too.’

‘I’ll enjoy that,’ she said grimly.

Tony signed the letter and passed it across to Carol. ‘Ask for Maggie Spence, the Assistant Director. She likes me, she’ll be helpful.’

‘Unlike your boss,’ Carol said drily. She knew the history between them. Power never forgives those who know its dirty little secrets.

A wry smile. ‘Hard to believe how much pleasure this will give him.’ He swept his arm to encompass the depressing room.

‘They’ll have a search warrant by now,’ Scott said, impatient to get on with the serious business of the morning. ‘They’ll be going through your home and your office. If there’s anything you don’t want them to find, now’s the time to tell us.’ She cocked an eyebrow at him.

Tony shrugged, spreading his hands in a gesture of openness. ‘Good luck to them. If they find the data CD for Tomb Raider 3, I’d be eternally grateful.’ He gave a strained smile. ‘I really don’t have any dark secrets. Hidden shallows, that’s me.’

Carol had had enough. She pushed her chair back and folded Tony’s letter away in her bag. ‘Unless there’s anything else you think I need to know, I’m going now. I’ve got inquiries to make and the clock’s ticking. And my dog needs walking.’

‘Dog?’ Tony looked bemused.

‘I’ll fill you in later,’ Scott said to her retreating figure.

Tony’s spirits sank as Carol walked out of the interview room. Bronwen Scott made him feel nervous and inadequate; a woman for whom he could never have enough right answers. He watched the door close then said, ‘She’s got a dog?’

Scott looked baffled, but in an amused sort of way. ‘I have no idea what Carol’s domestic arrangements are.’

Tony pulled a face. ‘Neither do I, apparently. So, what’s going to happen now?’

‘Fielding will interview you again. Unless she’s got something new we don’t know about she’ll just try to rerun yesterday’s questions and you’re going to go “no comment” to everything she puts to you. She’ll try to unsettle you, to provoke you. But you mustn’t let her get to you.’