He turned to Stanstead. ‘Luke, have anything for us?’

He nodded. ‘I do, boss. The information we have received from the Intelligence Team and the victimology enquiries. Eden Paternoster’s maiden name is Townsend. If I have the correct family history, which I’m pretty certain I do, she has a previous record as a victim of DV. When she was sixteen, back in 2004, her mother stabbed her father fatally. For that, her mother got two years, suspended, for manslaughter. Eden was in the room when it happened.’

‘A suspended sentence, which means,’ Branson said, ‘the court and judge and jury trying her pretty much felt she was justified, right?’

‘Self-defence?’ Grace questioned rhetorically.

Grace made a note in his Policy Book, that when obtaining the medical records for Eden they would need detailed information on the likely impact on the victim through medical consultation, and how that might present and play out in later life. Next to it, he wrote, ‘Significant factor?’

Under the thirty-six-hour rule they had until around 9 a.m. tomorrow to make the decision whether to charge Niall Paternoster, release him or apply for a warrant of further detention, if necessary. For that, they would need sufficient grounds to convince a magistrate to grant it.

‘EJ,’ Grace said, ‘there’s a very bright child psychologist I know, Orlando Trujillo. Try to get hold of him and when we have Eden’s medical records run the history by him and ask for his views on how that might have shaped her personality. I’m particularly interested in how she might have subsequently reacted to domestic abuse or violence – I’m speculating here based on what I and DI Branson felt after talking to her husband, that he might be an angry and controlling man. I’ve got Trujillo’s contact details on file and I’ll give them to you straight after this meeting – and I’ll sanction his fee.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Addressing the civilian Financial Investigator, Emily Denyer, he asked, ‘Anything to report?’

‘I’m preparing the necessary paperwork and I’ve already made a number of requests to the financial institutions to gather the details for the background checks, sir,’ Denyer said.

‘Anything that comes to light, tell me immediately – don’t wait for this evening’s briefing.’

‘No, guv,’ Emily said.

Each team member then provided an update on their own investigations. Grace thanked them all and ended the meeting, remaining seated to write up notes in his Policy Book.

While he worked on it, he reflected with a tinge of sadness that when he’d first started as a Senior Investigating Officer, the main purpose of the Policy Book was to help inform other detectives who carried out regular reviews of a Major Crime investigation in progress, looking to advise on anything the SIO and his team might not have thought of. But these days its prime purpose was to protect the SIOs from any accusations of wrongdoing and also to justify his decision-making process. Just one more example of how he and his colleagues spent more time these days protecting their backs than doing the job they were paid to do. Which was to save lives, serve and protect.