She said: ‘Is it not the case that you found out Ben Delaney was having an intimate relationship with your wife? You killed him in a jealous rage. Maybe you didn’t mean to kill him, maybe you just meant to teach him a lesson. But you saw red and gave him a proper hiding and before you knew it he was bleeding and dying on the concrete in front of you. So you thought, “What the hell do I do now?” and you concealed his body and took his phone, and you’ve been trying to cover your tracks by posting various Facebook updates and sending text messages supposedly from –’

‘This is bullshit!’ I said more forcefully than I had intended. ‘And it’s exactly what Ben wants you to think. How can it be a murder when no one’s died? I’ve seen him, heard him on the phone, talked to him on social media. This is ridiculous.’

‘Joe –’ Larssen began.

Redford said: ‘Would you say you lose your temper quite easily, Joe?’

‘My client has no comment,’ Larssen said, his tone that of the disappointed parent of a child misbehaving in public. He turned in his chair to face me and said: ‘Do you remember our discussion a few minutes ago, in this room, Joe?’

‘Yes, I remember.’

‘Certain advice that I gave you?’

‘Yes.’

‘It would be in your interests to proceed on that basis. Agreed?’

His expression said: Calm down and keep your mouth shut.

‘OK,’ I said.

Naylor put his hands behind his head and swivelled slightly in his chair.

He said: ‘You’d be amazed how common it is, you know.’

‘What?’

‘Suspects going back to the scene of wrongdoing. Like a dog returning to its own vomit. People just can’t help themselves, a lot of the time, even though they know it might draw suspicion. Sometimes they just can’t leave it alone, sometimes it’s about showing the police how clever they are.’

‘I told you: Ben asked me to meet him at that park.’

‘So you said. We’ll know soon enough either way – we’ve got a full evidence recovery team at the park tonight, checking sites of interest.’

A shiver of fear went through me, like a razor blade sawing up and down my spine.

Larssen said: ‘Of interest in what way?’

‘There are some interesting areas of woodland at the country park. Isolated spots. Quite private even though they’re not too far from the road. There are a couple of spots in particular that we’re taking a closer look at.’

‘Why?’

‘Because they show signs of recently disturbed earth.’

Chapter 59

59

Larssen spoke slowly, as if he wanted to make sure there was no room for confusion.

‘Could you be more specific about what you mean when you say “disturbed earth”?’

‘Potential burial locations.’