‘I see.’

‘But that wasn’t enough. No. I needed to … Well, the last detail, you know? I remember you saying that once, Guv. It’s the very last detail that counts.’

Hobbes shrugged.

‘So I remembered, right, that one of the gems was missing. So I said to her, “Camilla, did you lose a ruby from the brooch?” And she nodded, and told me yes, that she’d been playing with it one day and had managed to prise the stone free and it rolled under the sofa. She never could find it, and she was upset by that, wondering if Grandma might be watching her from above. “It must still be there,” she said, “somewhere in that house, that terrible house.” And then she … well, Camilla just kind of gave in. She wanted to talk, to tell everything, to be taken to the police station.’ Fairfax kept his gaze on Hobbes. ‘And that’s it. That’s the story.’

Hobbes didn’t say anything.

A moment passed.

He took something from his inside jacket pocket.

It was a black leather folder with a police warrant card inside it.

He slid it across the table.

Fairfax looked at it. His hand reached out. ‘What do you want me to do? Talk to her?’

‘No. Listen. Listen to her. The occasional word of encouragement.’

‘OK. I can do that.’

‘No messing about now, Tommy, no games, no tactics.’

‘Absolutely.’ Fairfax smiled.

‘Because if you cock up again, I swear, you’ll be gone. And gone for good.’

‘Right. Sir. Noted.’

‘What changed your mind? About coming back.’

‘This case. Nothing more. The puzzle of it all.’

Hobbes kept his face cold. Even now, he couldn’t help feeling he’d made a mistake, but the move was there to be made. He led Fairfax back up to the second floor. Neither man spoke on the way.

Latimer was waiting for them. ‘Are we good?’ she said.

‘I hope so.’

Ten minutes later DC Fairfax was sitting at the table, opposite to Camilla Greene. DS Latimer was standing in a corner, keeping herself to herself.

This tiny space. Interview Room B.

It was all about one thing only: a woman talking.

The Hidden Room

She started quietly with the sentence, ‘I wandered the corridors alone.’ And she kept the same hushed tone for the first few minutes, until she had found a flow and then she spoke more easily. Soon after this Camilla’s conviction faltered again and she made a visible effort to keep the story going. Her face would screw tight at these times, and her hands would clench. Twice she lit a cigarette and smoked each one only halfway down, stubbing it out with a look of disgust on her face. Fairfax kept quiet for most of this, nodding at certain points, sipping at a glass of water, asking an occasional question. Latimer stood against the wall, perfectly still, perfectly upright, listening intently.

‘I wandered the corridors alone at night, staying up as late as I liked. Nobody cared for me, really. I was a free spirit lost in that ugly house, in the shadows.’