Even reading the words on the page, shorn of their delivery, the nuances of expression and inflection, it was obvious that the response put a hitch in Smoulter’s stride. At that point, he asked if Vale wanted something else to drink – a coffee or a tea – and the interview was temporarily halted.

When it started again, Smoulter picked up where he left off.

SMOULTER: Did you chat to Beatrix at any point while you were both inside the property at the party?

VALE: No, I didn’t.

SMOULTER: So the first and last time you spoke to Beatrix Steards was when she left the party?

VALE: Yes.

SMOULTER: Why did you go outside to smoke?

VALE: It seemed like the polite thing to do.

SMOULTER: What’s polite about it?

VALE: Well, not everyone likes the smell of cigarette smoke. I try to be cognizant of that.

SMOULTER: But it’s not a crime to smoke inside.

VALE: I didn’t say it was. I said not everyone likes it, so I thought it would be polite to –

SMOULTER: Did you go outside to smoke because you’d seen Beatrix getting ready to leave the party?

VALE: No, I did not.

SMOULTER: Was her ‘bumping into you’ on the front steps of that house actually part of your plan?

VALE: I didn’t have a plan.

SMOULTER: So you just got lucky?

VALE: That’s not what I meant.

SMOULTER: We spoke to Robert Zaid and he told us that you had previously admitted to liking Beatrix.

VALE: Liking her?

SMOULTER: You fancied her.

VALE: I don’t remember saying that.

SMOULTER: So Mr Zaid is lying?

VALE: No. You’re twisting my words.

SMOULTER: You didn’t find Beatrix attractive?

VALE: I don’t believe that thinking she was attractive is the same thing as ‘fancying’ her. You can admit to finding someone attractive without it meaning that you want to date them or ask them out.

SMOULTER: So you did find her attractive?

VALE: Do I remember telling Robert that? No, I don’t. Does it mean I didn’t say it to him? No, it doesn’t mean that either. I probably did say that to him in passing. But, as I said, admitting a person is attractive isn’t the same as having something to do with them going missing. It’s not the same at all. Beatrix and I, we talked for ten minutes, and then she headed towards the Tube station at Kennington. That was the last time I saw her.