‘But you were angry, right?’

‘Of course I was angry.’

‘You beat him up, didn’t you?’

‘No.’

‘You beat the shit out of him in that car park. You gave him what he deserved, didn’t you, Joe? I would have, in the same position.’

‘No, that isn’t what happened.’

‘But then you realised you’d gone too far.’

I shook my head, unease crawling through my veins like a toxin.

‘I didn’t even know about the affair then.’

‘He punched you, and you didn’t retaliate?’

‘I pushed him. That’s all.’

‘You punched him?’

‘No. I never hit him.’

‘Why not?’

‘He’s half my size.’

That was a stupid thing to say.

‘So would you say you’re a lot bigger, physically stronger and more powerful than this man who was shagging your wife and has now gone missing?’

I tried to stay calm, think about what I said next before it came out of my mouth.

‘He’s not missing, not in the way you’re talking about it.’

‘But you’re a lot taller and stronger than him.’

‘I suppose so.’

‘You’re a big bloke, I bet you hit pretty hard.’

‘I told you, I didn’t hit him.’

‘But you left him there, on the ground? Weren’t you concerned about him?’

‘My son was having an asthma attack, a bad one. I thought he was going to die on me. I went back as soon I could to check Ben was OK, but he had already gone.’

Naylor frowned, lines bunching together across his forehead.

‘Gone where, do you think?’

‘I don’t know. Just gone.’

‘So he was in a bad way when you left him, then?’

It occurred to me that I had already said too much. Probably way too much.

‘Am I being arrested?’

Naylor smiled, the frown lines on his forehead disappearing.

‘Of course not. You can leave whenever you want.’

‘So I can leave now?’

‘Yup.’

‘I can just get up and walk out if I want to?’

‘That’s right.’

He paused, as if daring me to do just that. Now I knew I was free to leave, it seemed churlish to do it when I had nothing to hide. But I suddenly felt intensely claustrophobic, as if I might be stuck here forever if I didn’t get out now.

‘And what happens next?’

‘We continue to gather evidence. On the back of these blood results’ – he indicated the green file – ‘I’ll be requesting additional support to carry out a full proof-of-life inquiry over the next thirty-six hours, starting this morning.’

‘What’s a proof-of-life inquiry?’