Jonah smiled. ‘I can do the pushing. Anything else?’

‘I was looking at the weather for last night,’ O’Malley said. ‘It’s tricky to be positive, but as far as I can make out from a number of sites, it snowed somewhere between one thirty and four a.m. across most of the city. We’ll probably know more if we get CCTV footage, though that won’t be local to Saints Close.’

‘Potentially useful,’ Jonah said. ‘If we could at least rule out him dying after 4 a.m., that’s a start.’ And then he let himself into the interview room and sat in front of Louise, who moved ever so slightly away from him.

‘Thank you for giving your statement,’ Jonah said. ‘There are just a few things I wanted to check.’

Louise fixed her eyes on him, and nodded. ‘Sure.’

‘Going back, first, to this question of the victim’s identity,’ he began. ‘It seems strange that the young man would have ended up in your front garden if he was unknown to you.’

Louise lifted her hands, a helpless gesture. ‘I know. I have no idea why he’d come to us, unless it happened to be the nearest house, and he was desperate. If it were me, I suppose I could see myself aiming for the porchlight, hoping for help.’ Her lips twisted. ‘Poor fucker. Bleeding out his life without … without anyone even knowing.’

‘Someone knew,’ Jonah said, quietly.

The sharp look she gave him made him reassess her. Louise might be hungover and afraid, but she wasn’t in any way stupid.

‘Mrs Reakes,’ he said in a harder tone, ‘I’m sure you’re aware that we’ll need to speak to your husband directly. It would save us time if you could pass on his contact details.’

There was a curious twist to Louise’s face as she said, ‘But I haven’t – been able to get through to him yet. Do you mind if I try again before you call? Just so he doesn’t lose his shit?’

Jonah nodded, slowly, finding the occasional peppering of profanities a little disconcerting. They were a strange contrast to her otherwise meek manner.

‘We’d appreciate it if you’d call him as soon as we’re done here. Straight afterwards.’

‘Yes,’ Louise said, and swallowed. ‘Of course.’

Jonah watched her for a few seconds, happy to let her discomfort increase. He agreed wholeheartedly with O’Malley. Something about contacting her husband concerned her. Was it possible that he wasn’t, in fact, away? That he had murdered a man at their property and then gone to ground?

‘When did you last speak to him? Your husband?’

‘Yesterday,’ Louise said. And then, when Jonah watched her without replying, she added, ‘Before April turned up. Probably … five?’

‘Can I take your friend’s full name?’

‘It was just over the phone, though. My chat with Niall. Why do you want to know?’