The question caught me unprepared. Dan knew that Dad had left us when we were kids. The truth was I had no idea what he was like now. ‘Dad’s English was always better than Mum’s, and when we arrived in the UK he kept saying how important it was for us to become bilingual.’ I felt the knot tightening in my stomach. I cleared my throat, keen to change the subject. ‘I think we have to consider Marta a suspect, don’t you?’ I hoped Dan would pick up on my cue. ‘She’s certainly got a motive for removing Simas from Indra’s—’

The vibrating of my mobile interrupted our conversation. It was Alexej.

‘OK,’ I said, once he’d briefed me. ‘We’re on our way back.’

Dan’s eyes were on me.

‘LfA has claimed responsibility for organising the flash mob.’ I lobbed my coffee into a bin, hoping that this would be a productive lead. ‘And the tech team have traced the owner of the domain address. Have a guess who LfA was founded by?’

Dan, 6 p.m.

Dan, 6 p.m.

‘Any previous?’ Maya asked as they walked up the front path of Agnieszka and Olaf’s terraced house in East Ham.

‘Nothing,’ Dan replied, thinking back to the information he’d read about Agnieszka’s husband. ‘Strozyk came to the UK in 1985. School in Plaistow. Tower Hamlets College after that. Studied accountancy here, and runs his own business in Upton Park.’

A dumped couch sat on its haunches against the garden wall, rusty springs protruding and a gaping burn hole in the seat.

Olaf opened the front door within seconds of Maya ringing the bell. ‘You made me jump. I’ve just got home.’ He clocked their warrants and his face flushed pink. ‘Has something happened?’ He had a strong Polish accent.

Maya introduced them. ‘We need to ask you a few questions about LfA. Can we come in, please?’

‘Wow. That’s a blast from the past.’ His expression shifted to relief, and he stepped backwards to let them in. ‘Of course. I was just about to head over to the shop to visit Agnieszka and the kids.’ He led them along the hall, loosening his tie as he walked.

It was a family home, with all the things Dan missed. Underneath the adult coats, each of their three children had a peg for their clothes and bags, and a plastic box for their shoes. In the lounge, Dan began sizing up the room. Last night’s dinner. Lever arch files all over the coffee tables. This wasn’t children’s mess. Someone had created a system, a place for everything. Another was ignoring it.

‘We understand you set up LfA.’ Maya was watching Olaf closely.

‘A long time ago, yes. When I was at university.’ He waved his hand dismissively.

‘And the website, LfA.com?’

‘Yup.’

‘Are you still involved with it?’