It was an extraordinarily brave attitude and I admired her courage. She was going to need it to sustain her. ‘Did you get any antagonism from any residents or shopkeepers in the area?’

‘Of course. Brick Lane is very cliquey, but I think that’s the way immigrants end up living, you know? When we move, we form cliques with other people like us.’

‘If you had to put money on who might have wanted Simas dead, who would that be?’ I was hoping she would mention why, when she rang 999, she’d said she thought someone had murdered her husband.

Indra shifted in her seat and winced as the movement in her abdomen caused her pain. She got up and went over to the kettle. Shook it and flicked it on to boil. ‘When you live like Simas, taking what you want and not caring about the people you hurt, there will always be people who want you dead. When Tomasz told me about the fire, it was my first thought. I can’t really explain why – just that it’s something I’ve been scared about the whole time Simas and I have been together.’ She switched the kettle off again and took a bottle of vodka from a cupboard. ‘In lots of ways I made excuses for him. I told myself he wasn’t a bad person, not like Artem. He couldn’t help it. That, despite the other women, he loved me. I tried to make myself believe all of it because I was scared to think otherwise.’ Her eyes flinched with pain as she glugged vodka into a glass.

It was a story I’d heard on many occasions, yet each time it was slightly different, and it shocked me anew. I was relieved she’d explained, as it meant I hadn’t needed to force the issue.

‘Also,’ she said, and then took a gulp of vodka, ‘when Tomasz called,’ she swallowed it and coughed, ‘I can’t remember exactly what he said, but I think he asked if anyone was in the shop. I know now that it was just because he was worried about us, but his call sent me into a panic.’ Her face was distraught. ‘As for who might have wanted Simas out of the picture, I gave you a list of all the people I could think of. There will be many more I’ve forgotten.’

I took a deep breath. ‘How did your sister get on with Simas?’

A guffaw spilled out of Indra’s mouth. ‘She hated him. And I don’t blame her.’

‘Could she have wanted him dead?’