‘It is possible,’ Jonah agreed. ‘An attempted trap that went wrong. I think she was telling the truth about someone attacking her, and I want to find out where it happened. Louise remembers falling face first onto grass, and trees around her. If the ANPR cameras haven’t picked up any of our suspects’ cars in the area, then our search radius is fairly small. As far as a drunk woman could stumble.’ He paused outside his office door. ‘Do we know when Juliette’s going to be back?’

‘I’ll find out,’ Lightman replied.

‘I want the two of you to work out any likely places for an attack. And when you have any, get Linda McCullough to meet you there.’

As Lightman wrote himself a note, Jonah briefly updated O’Malley and asked if he’d had any joy with the traffic cameras.

‘Louise Reakes’s car wasn’t on the road,’ the older sergeant answered. ‘April Dumont I’ve only picked up much earlier in the day. She must have got a cab to Saints Close, which means any movements later would have been in a cab, too. I’m checking Step Conti now.’

‘When you’re done with the airline, I want to look for Niall Reakes on those cameras,’ Jonah said, tersely. ‘Someone attacked her, and Niall wasn’t where he said he was. We need to know where he went, and what happened to his wife.’ And then, realising that this was a little sharper and more melodramatic than his usual style, he added, ‘Please.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Louise said, quietly, as soon as the officers had left the interview room. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Patrick. ‘I didn’t … I’m too tired to think. I’m not trying to get Niall in trouble.’

There was a moment of silence, and then Patrick said, ‘Of course not, and I’m sure he isn’t in trouble. It’s sensible for you to explain everything that casts doubt on this idea of you as perpetrator.’

There was another pause, and then Louise said, ‘I think it’ll be OK for Niall. I’m pretty sure I know what he was doing. And who he was doing it with. It isn’t what they’re thinking.’

After another moment, Patrick said, ‘Perhaps you should tell the police what you think. But I’ll be sorry if it’s that, too.’

Jonah picked up the phone to Hanson twenty minutes after leaving the interview room.

‘So we definitely have no sign of a meet-up between Alex Plaskitt and Louise Reakes on London Road,’ she summarised. ‘And he was too far behind to be following her. So either they met at the house by prearrangement, or something else went on.’