‘Who were you working for?’

‘You’re saying too much, Henry. Keep it simple.’

‘Several international charities, the last of which was in Syria.’

‘But you’re not nursing any more?’

‘I fancied a change.’

‘When did you last see Lottie?’

Heath’s left eye began to twitch. ‘Well, I see her on a daily basis in school, of course, but far less so during the holidays. I do occasionally see her out and about with her lovely mother. They are neighbours, after all. Megan’s such a friendly woman, and she never fails to say hello.’

‘When was the last time you saw Lottie? Try to be as specific as you can.’

‘Be careful, Henry. He’s suspicious, he’s asking too much. Give nothing away.’

‘Um, now let me think, it was a day or two before I saw the report relating to her abduction on the Welsh evening news. It was such a terrible shock. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It left me heartbroken. I really thought you’d have found the poor girl long before now.’

‘You saw the news of the press conference?’

‘Yes, I did.’

‘In that case, you’ll be aware that Lottie disappeared from her home in the early hours of the nineteenth of this month.’

‘As I said, I saw the report.’

‘Did you see or hear anything that was in any way suspicious on either the night of the abduction or in the days leading up to it?’

‘Not that I can think of, but I did see a middle-aged woman hanging about outside the Wellers’ house yesterday, very shortly after Megan was taken away in the police car. I think you were one of the two officers accompanying her, weren’t you? I’m not someone who’s naturally curious. I like to keep myself to myself. But I happened to be returning home after a visit to town.’

All of a sudden Lewis was interested. ‘You say “hanging about”, can you be more specific?’

‘She was standing outside on the pavement staring at the house, as if trying to see through the lounge window. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now that you ask…’

‘Had you ever seen the woman before?’

‘Be careful, Henry, don’t say too much. Mum’s the word.’

‘No, never, but strangely enough, she looked like a younger version of my mother.’

Lewis thought it an unlikely coincidence, but he decided to go with it. ‘And you’re sure of the timing? It was definitely yesterday?’

‘Oh, yes, I’m certain of it, there’s no doubt in my mind.’

Lewis took out his pocketbook. ‘Can you describe her for me?’

‘That’s it, Henry, smoke and mirrors, misdirection. He’s not the brightest spark. It shouldn’t be difficult to confuse him.’

Heath was beginning to feel more confident now, keen to drive home what he saw as his advantage. Maybe the pig’s visit wasn’t such a bad thing after all. He went on to provide a full description, basing it on his mother’s clothes and appearance. He was careful to describe a person of a very different height to himself.