‘I started thinking about how we were going to be short-staffed without you there, so I rang Heidi and asked if she could come in as soon as possible. It was only ten or fifteen minutes before she was due to start, but you know how busy we can get in that time.’

‘I do,’ said Sterling. ‘Go on.’

‘Heidi said “Why, what’s up?”, and I said, “I’ve had to put Ida off.” Of course, she asked me why. I told her Sergeant Collins had phoned and said he had information that Ida—’ Elijah stopped and flushed red again ‘—Detective Sterling, I mean, had been trying to procure drugs from her while she’d been employed at my hotel.’

‘Did Sergeant Collins say who had given him this information?’ asked Flowers.

‘No, and I didn’t ask. I imagine that would have been confidential.’ He looked at Sterling then. ‘I’m not just saying this because I know that you’re a detective now, but my gut feeling had always been that the Ida who worked for me was a person of integrity. I didn’t like that I’d been mistaken, so I asked Heidi outright because I wanted to check if it really happened.’

‘What did Heidi say?’ asked Sterling.

‘She said yes, you had done that.’

‘Did you get the impression that Heidi was alone in the car when you were talking to her?’ Flowers asked.

Elijah shook his head. ‘I heard music at the start, but it was turned down pretty quickly. I’m sure she was with someone.’

‘Why are you so sure?’

‘Because I’ve called her in for shifts before when she’s been in the car with Rodney Garrett. I’ve heard the same soundtrack.’

Flowers nodded.

‘So, how did the conversation finish up?’ Sterling asked.

‘I think she said something like, “How did she take it?” or “What did she say?”, and unfortunately, and I feel terrible about this, I said, “She told me she was an undercover cop working in the mountains trying to bust a drug network.” And then I said, “Can you believe that?”’ Elijah shook his head. ‘That was the end of the conversation and, of course, she didn’t show up for work.’

Flowers turned to Sterling. She nodded.

‘I think that’s all we need, thank you,’ Flowers said, standing up and turning off the recording equipment. Elijah’s recall of the events yesterday afternoon confirmed what Heidi had told them. Garrett had learned from that conversation that Sterling was a cop. He’d also learned she wasn’t at the hotel but at home. He’d known exactly where to find her and exactly how to kill her. The undercover detective was also a hopeless junkie who’d died of a drug overdose.