‘I have a request, from the Divisional Intelligence Unit, for surveillance to monitor a very large drugs consignment believed to be on its way from Liverpool to Brighton. If they can put this in place, they think they could scoop up some of the major players on the Brighton drugs scene. So, what should I do with my resources? Deploy my Surveillance Team to discover the outcome of a marital dispute or to potentially save the lives of many Sussex citizens by cutting off a major drugs supply chain? I don’t like to raise this today of all days, but life has to go on and decisions have to be made.’

‘I don’t think it’s as straightforward as you think, sir,’ Grace said.

‘You’re suggesting it’s not as clear-cut about the Paternosters?’ Pewe retorted.

‘Correct – sir.’

Pewe opened out his arms expansively. ‘So, convince me.’

‘I need more time to keep him under surveillance,’ Grace said calmly. ‘As I told you, something’s going on that I’m not happy about. At this moment I’m still of the opinion that Niall Paternoster may have murdered his wife, with or without the help of Rebecca Watkins.’

‘But you are also considering that Eden Paternoster may have set this up and disappeared of her own volition? Or conspired with her husband?’

‘Yes, I am.’

Pewe picked up a globe paperweight on top of a stack of papers on his desk, then laid it back down again. ‘To repeat myself, you currently have no evidence of a life at stake. You also currently have very little evidence that Mrs Paternoster has been murdered. Correct?’

‘Correct.’

‘So what do you need the Surveillance Team for now?’

‘I need them to continue monitoring Niall Paternoster’s movements. If he has conspired with his wife, he may lead us to her. If he has murdered her, he may lead us to her body – we know that killers frequently return to the deposition site. It’s possible that the grave in Ashdown Forest could be a decoy. As I told you, I’m unhappy about the location the kitchen knife was found in.’

‘You’ve also told me you don’t think Niall Paternoster is very bright. Now you’re saying he’s bright enough to have created a decoy grave and left a clue, in the knife, in an obvious place? Or perhaps conspired with his wife to fake her disappearance?’

‘All of these are current possibilities, sir.’

‘There’s a tracker in place beneath his rental car, placed there by the Surveillance Team?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you have access to the data from the tracker?’

‘We do. On our computers and phones – and tablets.’

‘Fine,’ Pewe said. ‘It seems to me that for now the Surveillance Team has served its purpose. I’ll leave it with you until 6 p.m. today after which I’m going to redeploy it to the Liverpool operation. But I will instruct Mark Taylor to leave the tracker in place. You and your team will be able to monitor Paternoster’s car on your computers, tablets and phones. The rest you’ll have to do the old-fashioned way. Right, I think that’s all. Don’t forget to let me know when Bruno’s funeral is.’