‘Hundchen? Still missing, I’m afraid. Missing, presumed lost. Beth, of course, won’t have it. She had these posters printed, got a photo from Bill, plastered them everywhere. She talked to the local paper, too, insisted the wretched animal was still alive. That woman would die without publicity, I swear it. She needs to be centre stage. All the bloody time.’

‘And does that matter?’

‘Not in the least. She’s a character. And we like that, don’t we, my lovely?’

Indeed, we do. A couple of weeks later, Rosa calls with news from Paris. After a precautionary look at my show reel, the Exec Producer of Dimanche has confirmed I’m to be his pick for Danielle Colbert. So far, so good, but Rosa has also been talking to the BBC Drama department. Our favourite commissioning editor has been badgering her again and it appears that it’s his last call for Pavel’s missing masterpiece. Most of next year’s development budget has now been spent and there’s precious little left to invest in whatever I might be able to find.

‘What do you think, my precious? Worth giving that nice policeman a call?’

I do her bidding, not simply on Pavel’s account but because I’m genuinely curious about the fate of Operation Bulldog. Last time I checked, Bullivant’s enquiry was still at full throttle. In the absence of a body, can we now lay our memories of Christianne to rest?

To my surprise, Brett Atkinson seems pleased to hear me.

‘Shaz caught that play of yours,’ he says at once. ‘She’s mad for proper radio.’

‘And?’

‘She loved it. Especially the bit at the end.’

‘When I try and do myself in?’

‘Yeah. Drowning, wasn’t it? Some place in Bristol?’

This is an easy cue to take us to Operation Bulldog, and Brett is more forthcoming than I’d expected. It helps that he’s at home, on a rare day off.

‘NFA,’ he says at once.

‘Meaning?’

‘No Further Action. Relax. You’re off the hook.’

‘And McFaul?’

‘That’s different.’

‘How?’

‘He’s broken his bail conditions, for one thing. That means he’s on a nicking. The man has questions to answer. Do a runner, and there has to be a reason.’

‘You’ll find him?’

‘Of course we will.’

I nod. Now is definitely not the time to enquire about abroad, though I’ve been thinking hard about what might happen after Brexit. Will European arrest warrants still work, when and if we leave? Or can someone like McFaul simply drop off the radar?

‘And Bullivant?’ I query instead. ‘Has all this made him a happy man?’