Fiona wasn’t doing anything wrong, but it felt like Leona was running rings around her. And there wasn’t much point pushing it until we’d looked at the CCTV and spoken to this Martin bloke.

My eyes were drawn again to the slogan on Leona’s T-shirt. I had to admit I found the woman intriguing. It was invigorating to encounter someone with views so different from the norm, and she was clearly bright. I was a sucker for the brainy ones.

‘Do you like my T-shirt?’ she said. ‘I can get you one if you want, although you need to know that some people find it offensive. Obviously they’re missing the point, due to their rampant speciesism. It doesn’t need to be about slavery. You could think about the rights of women in 1850, or people with mental health problems. Or children forced up chimneys. It’s about whether you can stand back from the cultural norms of your society and see that these practices are cruel and wrong. Maybe you can? You’re vegetarian, aren’t you?’

I didn’t respond. How the hell did she know that?

‘What about the other people involved in the Great Meat Debate website?’ I said. ‘What do you think of them?’

‘Gary has a nice body for a meat-eater. And Kirsty is quite pretty, in a blonde sort of way.’

‘Thanks, Leona,’ I said. ‘Very helpful. Let us have that information today.’

‘You’ve got to admit,’ Leona said, ‘if Violet Armstrong was eaten by pigs, you could argue that she got what she deserved.’

‘She’s a strange one,’ Fiona said. ‘Did she start the Animal Vigilantes?’

I stepped to the side of the corridor with Fiona. ‘I think so, yes. But it’s expanded massively in recent years, so I don’t suppose she knows everything that’s going on.’

‘I bet her story about going to Barnsley stacks up,’ Fiona said. ‘I doubt she’s stupid enough to lie about anything so easily verifiable. But she could have arranged for someone else to harm Violet. What have her group done in the past? Anything violent?’

‘They did blow up a car once, but nobody was hurt. They’ve released a lot of animals and got into scuffles, but I don’t think they’ve deliberately harmed anyone. Although she’s right about not being able to speak for the rest of the group, and there’s definitely a feeling of rising anger in the animal rights world.’

I heard footsteps behind and turned to see Craig striding down the corridor. ‘How’s it going?’ His tone was wrong. Too friendly.

‘What’s up, Craig?’

‘Nothing. I wondered how things were going.’

‘Fine, thank you. Are Violet’s parents back from their holiday yet?’

‘Yes, they’re here. Oh, and Jai has something to show you.’