‘Okay. Please, go on.’

‘Well, this woman – she said was I interested in a bit of evening work. Maybe nights. So I said it depended on what it was and the woman said it was easy enough, providing I wasn’t fussy about men.’

Chris scribbled this down then Clare said, ‘What did you take her to mean by that?’

Melanie avoided Clare’s eye. ‘She called it waitressing, with added extras. Said she’d pay me a flat rate to go along, mingle with a few men, party a bit, you know… anything else I wanted to earn above that was up to me.’

‘Melanie, this next bit is important so please think carefully.’

Melanie stared at Clare but she said nothing.

‘Did you understand you would be expected to have sex with the men? Is that what you were being paid for?’

She looked down. ‘It wasn’t exactly stated. Not like that. But she said…’

Chris stopped writing and they waited.

‘She said if the men were pleased with the party there would be more work for me.’

‘And did you think having sex with the men would constitute pleasing them?’ Clare asked. ‘I’m sorry to be so direct here but I’m concerned you’re being exploited.’

Melanie nibbled a bit of the Wagon Wheel and took another sip of tea. Then she met Clare’s eye. ‘I knew what I was getting into, Inspector. No one forced me. I was never forced. Sometimes I liked the men and things went a bit further. Other times I didn’t.’

Clare watched her, wondering how it was a young woman like Melanie could value herself so little that she did this kind of work – if you could call it work. ‘And, on this occasion?’ she said, ‘Did you go a bit further?’

‘Well obviously you know I didn’t come home in the minibus.’

‘You stayed overnight with one of the men?’

She nodded.

‘Which of the men was it?’

‘Steve,’ she said. ‘Steve Christie, I think.’

Chris stopped writing briefly and glanced at Clare.

‘And did you stay in Mr Christie’s room all night?’ Clare asked.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘All night. We had breakfast in the kitchen and he called me a taxi about ten. Everyone else was starting to come downstairs and I thought I’d better make myself scarce.’ She looked at Chris then back at Clare. ‘He was nice, you know? Nice man. I didn’t mind staying. Some of my friends,’ she said, ‘they go out dancing and have one-night stands. I don’t see this is much different to that. Except I earn a few quid doing it.’

Clare wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t want to upset Melanie. So she changed tack. ‘Can you think, please, if Mr Christie left the room at all during the night?’

‘I’m pretty sure he didn’t.’

‘What makes you so sure?’ Clare asked.