He forced a smile then went on. ‘I knew there were women in that bus,’ he said. ‘Mr Gerrard – he said it was entertainment for the lads. Told me to keep it quiet, ye know? Said he’d see me right.’ Mark Mooney cleared his throat then went on. ‘I thought he meant he’d bung me a few quid. But later on, bit after eleven, I saw one of the girls. She was round the side of the house and she, well, she gave me a nod.’ He smiled at Chris, as though looking for support. ‘I mean, I’m not gonna turn it down if it’s offered on a plate, am I?’

Clare ignored this. ‘Are you saying you went round the side of the house to have sex with one of the women who’d arrived in the minibus?’

The colour began to rise from Mark Mooney’s neck and he avoided Clare’s eye. ‘Well, yeah. Suppose I did.’

Clare nodded. ‘And where exactly did this liaison take place?’

‘Round the back.’

‘Outside?’

‘Yeah. There’s a log store just outside the kitchen door. No’ so many logs in the summer, obviously. So…’

‘Did you pay?’

‘Eh?’

‘Did you offer the woman any money?’

‘No! It wasn’t that kind of thing, Inspector. She just – I suppose she just fancied me.’

Clare raised an eyebrow. ‘And how long were you away from your post at the gate?’

‘Five or ten minutes, I suppose.’

She watched him for a few seconds then said, ‘Why didn’t you tell us this earlier, Mr Mooney?’

He shrugged. ‘Dunno, really. I mean, obviously you’ve seen how I’m fixed.’

‘Wife and kids, you mean?’

His face was scarlet now. ‘Yeah. It was just a quickie, though. Meant nothing.’

Chris leaned forward. ‘Mr Mooney, when you told us Doug Gerrard asked you to keep quiet about the minibus because of publicity, was that true?’

Mark Mooney drew a hand across his brow and wiped it on his trousers. ‘He said I wouldn’t want the wife hearing about it.’

Chris’s eyes narrowed. ‘He blackmailed you into keeping quiet about the women in the minibus?’

‘Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that,’ he said. ‘But he was right. It was stupid. Shouldn’t have done it. Definitely not worth risking my marriage for.’

‘Indeed,’ Clare said, her tone sharper than she meant. She met his eye. ‘So, is that it? Or is there more?’

He sank back in his chair. ‘No, that’s everything, honest.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m kicking myself for being so stupid.’

Clare sat silent for a moment then said, ‘Mr Mooney, we may call you back in to take a formal statement. But, in the meantime, I don’t want you to speak to anyone about this. And that includes Mr Gerrard. Got it?’

‘Don’t worry, Inspector. I won’t be taking any more calls from him.’