‘But look.’ Kal sits forward and picks up his phone. ‘Jonny sent me this on Saturday.’ He scrolls, then passes Robin his handset.

Robin looks at the image. It’s the photo from Twitter, with the dark background, and Jonathan Miller, his arm round Kal, their faces close to the screen.

‘We’ve seen it. He took this Friday night?’

‘Yes, so it proves he was there.’

‘I’ll need to seize your phone.’

‘No!’ Kal reacts like Robin’s going to chop off his hand. Robin smiles; it’s not necessary, just wanted to mess with the guy.

‘Fine, then email me the photo, please.’

Kal nods, relieved, and Robin hands him his card with his details. He watches as Kal does the transaction.

‘How would you describe Jonathan?’ Robin asks.

Kal looks up from his phone. ‘He was a good guy. Loyal. Reliable.’ Kal smiles sadly. ‘Makes him sound dull, but he wasn’t. He was the best, the sort of bloke you’d want to have your back, you know?’

‘And how well do you know Amy Miller?’ Freya asks.

‘Amy?’

Robin glances across to Freya. ‘Yes, Jonathan’s wife?’

‘Er, you know. Fairly well,’ he replies. But he picks up his phone, puts it down again, his fingers tapping.

‘Has it ever been just the two of you?’

‘The two of us?’

Robin sighs and leans forward, resting his hands on the desk. ‘Listen, Kal,’ he says. ‘This is all friendly now. But unless you’re going to cut the crap and be honest with us, we might have to request your presence down at the station. And your employers might not be so understanding about a recorded interview with lawyers present.’

‘Fine, fine.’ Kal holds his hands up defensively. ‘Yes, okay. There was something between Amy and I. Once. A few weeks ago. She and Jonny had had an argument, she came to my house. We got plastered. Snorted a bit of coke.’

‘What were they arguing about?’ Freya asks. ‘Jonny and Amy?’

‘She said it was to do with money. Their credit card bill had arrived and Jonny hadn’t been too impressed. I could well believe it. Jonny was always careful in that regard.’

Robin takes over again. ‘And you slept together?’ he asks.

‘No. Yes. Kind of.’

‘Which is it?’ Robin snaps.

‘Yes. Strictly speaking. But I… you know. Pulled out. Before the deal was complete. I couldn’t do it.’

‘Shag your best friend’s wife?’

‘No. She left. And I didn’t see her again until the party Friday night.’

‘And what were your movements on Monday and Tuesday?’ Robin asks.

‘Work. Here. And Lisa came over Monday night. My girlfriend,’ he adds with a charming smile back at Freya. Robin wonders if Lisa knows about the unconsummated shag with Amy Miller. He guesses not.

‘Do you know who Jonathan was having an affair with?’ Robin asks instead.

Kal recoils in surprise. ‘What? Jonny? I don’t believe it.’