‘First of all,’ I said, ‘I want you to know that I agree with you. On the face of it, we have little or no chance with this case, legally speaking. But I want to try to find evidence, if it’s there, against Jeremy Gill. It’s possible that Deirdre was pointing a finger at him with her note, and with the timing of her death in the aftermath of his award nomination. The way I’m thinking is that there have been some civil cases taken in the States by the surviving relatives of people who have committed suicide. It’s that kind of action I have in mind. To do that we’d need to show that Deirdre and Gill met, that they had been alone together, at the very least. After that, we’d need as much as we could get. We’d have to find witnesses. And we’d have to show that the deterioration in Deirdre’s mental condition started at that time and continued, so that her death was directly linked to the event. I’d have to look at the coroner’s report and we’d need psychiatric expertise and reports and––’

Ann interrupted, shaking her head.

‘There’s a big difference between being alone with someone and rape.’

‘You’re sure that’s what it was?’ I asked.

‘I’m sure. But to prove it now? I don’t know how you could.’

‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘We’d need to find something fairly big on Gill to get anywhere. But if we can find that, or a combination of things, we could threaten to take a civil case. Once proceedings are issued, the allegations against him would become public. He won’t want that. Bear in mind that his main area of operation is the States. A lawsuit like this isn’t common our side of the Atlantic, but it’s better known over there. If it got picked up on by social media or news outlets – and it would – Gill would be damaged. Badly damaged. That’s why I think that, if there’s any truth to the allegations at all, he’ll want to settle with us.’

‘Settle?’ Ann spat out the word. ‘You mean pay money? Money couldn’t replace Deirdre. If there was a case, it would have to be about justice.’

‘I know. It’s not about money. But money’s the only way to get to him. I explained already about the DPP and why the criminal courts’ route is closed to us. What I’m saying is that if we want to hit him where it hurts, we have to hit his reputation – and his pocket.’

‘You can’t just go around making accusations against powerful people like Gill.’