‘The first,’ he went on, ‘is how – and why – Alex Plaskitt ended up at eleven Saints Close. What happened on the way could tell us everything we need to know about how he died. Was there someone else who made their way to the house with Louise and Alex? Did Louise wait somewhere for him? Did he stumble after her in confusion? There might have been an altercation on the way. They also might have been seen together at some point, though we’ve not had anything useful back from our appeals to the public.’

He paused for a moment, letting the three of them finish writing all of that down, and then went on, ‘Related to that is point two: whether we believe that Louise Reakes suffered a total blackout, or whether she’s hiding a crime. We probably want to approach both of these questions in the same way.’ He highlighted the bottom of London Road with the laser pointer. ‘We still haven’t had CCTV back from the Wetherspoons to the south of London Road, or the kebab shop further north. I want to prioritise getting footage from those two places, and anywhere else between the nightclub and Louise’s house. Either or both of Louise and Alex might have gone south to pick up a cab from the taxi rank on the corner of Cumberland Place. Alternatively, they might have gone north, and then either continued up London Road or headed east along Bellevue.’

‘If they did cut through Bellevue, they probably would have gone up Onslow Road afterwards,’ Hanson said. ‘There are loads of places along there that’ll have CCTV. I’ll get on it. I can chase up the other ones, too.’

‘Thanks, Juliette. The third thing,’ he went on, ‘is the knife.’ He brought up an image of it on the screen, and then glanced at Lightman. ‘Do we have any updates from the makers, before I go on?’

‘I’ve left messages with Steel and Silver,’ Lightman said. ‘Emails, voicemails and web contact form. No reply as yet. Head office is in Newcastle, so hopefully they’ll get back to us before we end up having to visit.’

‘OK, thanks,’ Jonah replied. ‘So, my thinking. That knife isn’t something you’d happen to have with you. It’s a weapon, and it was presumably being carried for a reason.’

O’Malley gave him a speculative look. ‘Criminal involvement?’

‘Of one sort or another, possibly,’ Jonah replied. ‘If Louise Reakes is telling the truth, and had never seen the knife before, it could be Alex’s. But if he brought it out with him, that implies premeditation. Do we think Alex Plaskitt went out that night with the intention of threatening, raping or hurting a young woman?’