Eileen nodded. ‘At this stage, we need to consider every possibility. In the meantime, we’ve seen David’s will, and it’s fairly standard. His entire estate goes to his wife, but it’s actually not that much. There’s the house, of course, and his car, but apart from that all of his savings seem to have gone on supporting his daughter and granddaughter, and his political campaign to get himself elected. He’s not exactly a wealthy man. His work pension ceases on death, and there’s still a mortgage on the house, which isn’t paid off when he dies. So no one is financially better off without him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Anne might end up having to get herself a job, or else sell the house and downsize. And David paid Jessica an allowance out of his own work pension, which she won’t be getting any more. So the family certainly don’t have a financial motive to be rid of him.’

A team of constables were tasked with investigating the list of names Jonathan had given them, cross referencing them with reports of politically motivated attacks, especially any that appeared similar to those carried out against David Armstrong. Several of Jonathan’s associates turned out to be middle-aged women, aggrieved former librarians and retired school teachers, but one of the constables came across a potentially interesting name. Rod Browning was in his twenties and he had been involved in several violent protests while he was at university.

‘He looks like someone we ought to question,’ Geraldine agreed.

Although she wasn’t convinced that Rod’s history was necessarily significant, she went to speak to Ian who was co-ordinating the investigation into Jonathan’s associates. Geraldine knocked and opened the door of his office. When he looked up and saw her peering in, a wary expression crossed his face.

‘What is it?’ he asked, without inviting her to enter.

Ignoring his coldness, Geraldine went in. ‘Naomi’s come up with a possible suspect from Jonathan’s list,’ she said.

She was pleased that her voice was completely steady, while her feelings on being alone in a room with Ian were anything but calm.

‘It’s a young man with a history of violence. At university he was involved in a number of aggressive protests, causing damage to property, although no one was ever injured, except accidentally.’

The more she spoke, the more focused she felt on the case, and the easier it was to ignore the fact that she was alone with Ian. In that moment, she told herself, he was simply a colleague, and her senior officer. All the same, she refused to look directly at him for fear she would be distracted. His office was stuffy, and documents were strewn around untidily on his desk. When she glanced at him, she noticed that his hair was unkempt and he was unshaven. She looked away quickly.