‘Must have been about four, or four and a half years ago. I used to run, jog like, around the town. Still do sometimes. Anyway, I was runnin’ on Jesus Green, just mindin’ my own business. All of a sudden, this dog comes up to me and starts barkin’ and tryin’ to nip at my heels. I weren’t that bothered, skinny little thing it was, but the owner, well, she was well embarrassed. I stopped joggin’ so that she could come and collect her little dog, which by then had decided I was too big for it to carry on trying to attack.’

‘What type was the dog?’

‘I dunno. Might have been a boy or a girl.’ Grant shrugged.

‘No,’ Barrett sighed, ‘I mean, what type of dog was it? What breed was it?’

‘Oh, I getcha.’ Grant scratched his head. ‘Terrier type thing, I think. Sort of sandy-brown colour.’ Barrett nodded and made notes. ‘Anyway, the owner was Toni. I’d not met her before but she looked nice. Pretty like. Good tits.’ Grant laughed, and Singh showed he clearly disliked the description by curling his lip. ‘So, she said she was real sorry for what her dog had done, and offered to buy me a drink. I wasn’t about to say no to a pretty woman, so I said we should go to the pub on the river, you know, the Fort St George. Good boozer.’ Barrett did know it, as did Singh. ‘Well, anyway, we had a drink and she was flirtin’ with me something awful. Hand on my thigh, asking me where I worked out, all that sort of stuff.’

‘Did you know she was married?’ Singh asked.

‘The ring on her finger told me she was, yeah.’

‘We sat for a while, that little dog of hers was on the lead, tied up to the table, and I kept givin’ it crisps to keep it quiet and happy.’

‘Did you tell her you were married?’ Singh continued.

‘Now why would I do a thing like that?’ Grant threw back his head and gave a loud chuckle. ‘An attractive woman is coming on to me. I’ll say no such thing.’ He winked at Singh, who disliked the man more than he thought possible. ‘So, she says why don’t I come back to her place and have a shower. We all know what shower is code for, don’t we, fellas?’ Grant’s grin made him look like a caveman. ‘Anyway, that was the first time. Probably in the spring or summer.’

‘Did you meet regularly?’ Barrett’s pen was poised above the notepad.

‘About once a week for a few months. It weren’t serious. Just animal sex. She couldn’t get enough.’

‘And where did you meet?’ Singh asked.

‘Usually on the common. Sometimes she’d be waitin’ for me to run past and she’d grab me and we’d go off somewhere. She was a minx.’

‘Such as?’