Sleep still comes in bursts; she spends her waking hours crying in the dark, scrolling through the same photos and messages from him on her phone. She tried to get into his laptop, but she doesn’t know the password – the door into his hidden world she’s desperate to see, as if it holds the secret to his state of mind in those last few days.

Eventually she gave up and came into the office. She spent hours diligently working on Butler’s backed-up caseload, typing up reports, filing away evidence.

There’d been another break-in on the Friday night to add to their investigation. Not that they had the capacity to actually do anything on it. That was the fourth now. This time the damage had stretched to graffiti: messy daubs across the previously spotless living room walls. She ensured the initial house-to-house had been done by the PCs in the area, linking the statements to the correct file on the Record Management System. There was no useful intel, but at least the paperwork was up to date, any evidence logged and sent to the lab.

Butler was impressed Monday morning. He won’t be so keen on you when he finds out what you’re hiding, she told herself. That you were in love with the victim. That it’s you he’s looking for when he goes through the call logs on the mobile phone. The telematics from the car show Jon’s trip to her house on Friday afternoon, but Butler has no idea where she lives, and they haven’t focused on much before the party. Now she’s buried the records in her drawer, telling Butler there’s nothing of note. Another lie. Another crime, perverting the course of justice, to add to the potential charge of burglary that she’s already committed. She’s heard the voicemail from Robin on the secret mobile: a calm message asking the mysterious woman to call in to the station, to make herself known.

But it’s too late. She’s in deep now; she needs to follow it to the end.

She turns in her seat and looks up at the whiteboard where Jon’s timeline is neatly written. He’d mentioned the party Friday night. She remembers he wasn’t looking forward to it, although looking at the photo of him and Kal stuck up on the board, it looks like he was perfectly happy. Had he been lying to her? Another dishonesty to keep her close? To keep her happy while he fucked her?