He’d still been driving the BMW the last time she’d seen him. The car that she’d paid the deposit on, stupidly believing that he would pay her back. A car that was far, far too expensive for Damian’s modest salary and immodest debts. But of course Damian had to have it. He had to have the best of everything, always, as if the world owed him luxury.

She lowered her head and started to follow the DCI, refusing to look towards the car. It probably wasn’t even him.

Lots of people have black BMWs, she told herself.

But she was still shaking as she stepped into the rear lobby.

She wished they hadn’t built the place with so much glass. She could feel her skin crawling until she’d closed the door of CID behind her.

Jonah’s call from the superintendent came as he was halfway to his office. He deposited the desktop computer he was carrying on O’Malley’s untidy desk in order to answer it.

It was a mercifully quick call. The superintendent agreed that a custody extension was warranted, and approved a further application to the magistrates’ court for longer if needed. Technically, this meant that only Hanson, as the team’s constable, would be required to take Louise Reakes to the court the next day. But Jonah would go too. It was useful to have a senior officer there to answer any difficult questions, and kinder to support his junior officer.

‘Right,’ Jonah said, with the call done. ‘We have our thirty-six hours, and we’ll plan for a court application. Can I get a download on what Niall Reakes said to his solicitor, Ben?’

Lightman told him in his measured, precise way about the conversation. He outlined Niall Reakes’s doubts over his wife and his demand for Patrick Moorcroft to represent him instead.

‘They are clearly friends rather than solicitor and client, and Mr Reakes seems to feel betrayed by his friend’s decision to represent his wife. He implied that it pits her against him somehow, though exactly how that works isn’t clear. It was a fairly heated conversation,’ he added, in such a cool voice that it was slightly comic.

‘So he found it easy to imagine his wife cheating, and even killing,’ Jonah said.

‘Yes,’ Lightman agreed. ‘That’s a good summary. He’s now demanding to see you. His wife, meanwhile, is demanding to see him.’

Jonah gave a wry grin. ‘Well, I’m demanding coffee. Let’s see which one of us gets what we want first.’

O’Malley took a thermos and went to do a Costa run. ‘You don’t need a crappy disposable cup, so,’ he said, waving the thermos at Jonah. ‘Those things last for centuries before rotting down.’