She frowned. ‘The what?’

‘Some guy back in the 1960s or 70s came up with a theory that sooner or later in any hierarchy people get promoted to the level of their incompetence.’

Holly laughed. ‘Oh my God, so true about him!’

‘Just a shame that Anakin doesn’t rhyme with wanker.’

‘That doesn’t stop him from being one, though, does it?’

‘Nope.’

16

Monday 2 September

It was just gone midday when John Alldridge decided to contact the duty Detective Inspector at Brighton police station.

In contrast to Andy Anakin, who’d made them feel almost idiots for troubling him, DI Bryce Robinson was calm and sounded immediately concerned by what they told him. With his background as a former school teacher before joining the force, he was a good listener.

‘You’ve done the right thing,’ Robinson said. ‘Do you have any hypothesis about what we’re dealing with?’

‘We do, sir,’ Alldridge said. ‘We have a few.’

As he spoke, Alldridge could hear the tapping of keys, which indicated the DI was taking notes. ‘Our first is that, following their argument, Eden Paternoster met someone she knew in the store and left with them, scared to remain with her husband. Or simply, afraid to go back to the car, she went off on her own accord to seek refuge with a friend or member of her family. Her husband claims to have called everyone he can think of who she might have gone to, but if he has any history of violence, they might be shielding her and denying she’s with them.’

‘Very possible,’ Robinson said. ‘But I’ve just checked the name and address you’ve given me, and there’s no record of police having ever attended. No complaint or apparent history of domestic abuse. What’s your next hypothesis?’

‘That Mrs Paternoster has a lover. Her passport is missing. Could they have gone abroad together?’

‘You’ve got a recent photograph of her?’

‘Yes, sir, a couple – one taken yesterday. I have it digitally.’

‘Good, send it over to me as soon as we’re done and I’ll have it circulated.’

‘Our next hypothesis is that the lady might have tried to make her own way home and something happened – perhaps she was involved in an accident and is unable to make contact. But her husband says he’s called all hospitals in the area, so this seems unlikely. Our next is that she’s had some form of mental health episode and is now disorientated and lost.’

‘From the information you have,’ the DI asked, ‘how do you rate that on a scale of one to ten?’

Alldridge and Little looked at each other. He held out his hand, holding up his forefinger. His colleague nodded.

‘One,’ he said.

‘And your next?’

‘She’s been taken against her will.’

‘Is he wealthy?’

‘No, sir. He told us his business went bust and he’s now driving a friend’s cab.’

‘So, we can rule out kidnap for monetary gain?’

‘I think so, sir, quite safely.’

Robinson was silent for a short while. ‘Beyond these hypotheses, do you and PC Little have any views on what may be going on here?’