‘You’re never going to try and fit me up for that! You’re bloody not!’ Sugden peered nervously at Hitchens. ‘No, you’re not. I can see you’re not. Even you lot, you know better than that.’

Hitchens looked at Ben Cooper, inviting him to change tack. ‘Wayne, how did you feel when young Gavin was killed on that school trip?’

Now Sugden really did look confused. ‘What?’

‘You remember the accident to your nephew?’

‘’Course I do.’

‘They had to turn his life-support machine off. How did you feel about that?’

‘I was upset. Obviously. We were all upset. Gavin was a good lad. But –’

‘Who did you blame for his death?’

Sugden closed his mouth. His eyes flickered. He looked at the tapes.

‘Wayne? It would be normal to blame somebody for what happened. To hold somebody responsible. Maybe even to want revenge on them,’ said Cooper.

‘Look, don’t mess about with me,’ said Sugden. ‘I know it was Weston who was in charge when Gavin got hurt.’

‘Do you still say you didn’t burgle the Westons’ cottage?’ asked Cooper.

‘And do you still say you don’t know anything about their daughter?’ added Hitchens.

‘Yeah,’ said Sugden. ‘I do say that. Still.’

Sugden’s insistence worried Cooper. If the man lurking around Jenny Weston’s house wasn’t Martin Stafford or some boyfriend, it had to be Sugden. The description was vague, but it did fit him. And he had a motive for wanting to do Jenny harm. But Cooper trusted his own ability to judge when somebody was lying and when they were telling the truth, even if he could never prove it.

Of course, Sugden might have dwelt on the idea of revenge long enough while in prison, with no one to contradict him, for it to have festered in his mind. Cooper could even imagine the conversations with other prisoners that would have taken place, full of mutual self-pity and recriminations against those on the outside. Sugden had alibis for the day Jenny was killed. But might he have made some jail-cell pact? It seemed unlikely, though the things that went on in the minds of men in prison were far worse than that.

As he walked out of the station towards his car, Ben Cooper became aware that he was being followed. He thought at first it was Diane Fry coming after him, determined to open some new argument. But then he recognized the jacket, and he saw that it was Mark Roper.

Cooper stopped. ‘All right, Mark? Still here? Do you want a lift or something?’

‘I came with Owen, but he’s stayed to have a word with the inspector. They want us to put on more patrols round Ringham.’

‘I know.’

‘There’s something I wanted to tell you. I didn’t like to say anything in the meeting.’