‘Because Veliko did some very bad things, and Jane and Hunter are implicated through their contact with him. There is also a likelihood of more recent contact between Hunter and Veliko.’

‘Why would Zac do that?’

‘It appears Veliko and his ex-brother-in-law share some of the same interests.’

‘Well, they shared Jane.’

‘Yes, but more than that.’

‘And you and Maxine and Martin are finally admitting this to me why?’

‘Because you’re figuring it out. Because you deserve to know. Because I’ve been authorised to tell you.’

I shake my head. ‘No. No way. That isn’t it. That isn’t why you do anything. You want something from me. You don’t give information if it doesn’t suit you to.’

‘Perhaps . . . At some point . . . Premature to discuss it now . . .’

‘Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. I won’t do anything for the Security Service ever again.’

‘Understood.’ He looks straight at me, no bashful ducks of the head, no floppy-haired charm. ‘What made you get interested in Veliko, Helen? What made you ask me to find him?’

I don’t answer this either. Why should I? I’m not going to tell him I overheard Martin mention Veliko’s name while I was crouching on wet grass above the dead. Instead, I ask a question of my own. ‘What is it that you think Frederick Veliko did?’

‘You know Edward Snowden,’ he says.

‘Not personally.’

He allows himself a smile. ‘What Veliko did is similar to what Snowden did.’

I think again about the one non-pornographic item I found in Zac’s old bag two years ago. That special-issue political magazine about Snowden’s revelations. Gruesome details about how the British and American intelligence services were intercepting our private information. It was no surprise to find that magazine mixed with Zac’s hardcore porn. Two of his great passions all in one compact container. Taboo sex and information theft. Naked women in impossible poses and the rights of human beings to control their own data.

‘You know what’s weird?’ I say.

‘What?’

‘Zac was forever reading books about how our future is being attacked by algorithms. He was completely fascinated by WikiLeaks. Anything to do with surveillance and privacy and data control, he was into that. Panama Papers, yes. Activist hackers, yes. Whistle-blowers, yes. Snowden, yes, yes, yes. But he was hardly alone. To read about that stuff, to talk about it, isn’t a crime. If Zac was doing something illegal, if he was involved in some Snowden-type conspiracy, why would he be so open about those interests? He’s not going to document it all for you. He’s not going to leave evidence against himself.’