Then she let herself slump down onto a large beanbag, the closest thing to her in the modern, Ikea-heavy surroundings.

‘Bastards!’ she hiss-growled to herself, cradling her head in her hands.

‘Bastards? Who, Lisa?’

She wasn’t listening. She’d forgotten he was there.

But the anger drained from her in seconds. She sat, arms around her legs, literally pulling herself together, forcing herself to breathe.

‘Lisa? Who are they? You said bastards.’

She looked up. ‘What? I… No, I meant him. Silly bastard, got himself…’

Her voice fell quickly away. But her eyes were busy. She was thinking, moving past the shock, even now.

‘He was found dead in his mother’s car. It had been burnt out, over near Birstall. That’s where he was selling, right? Last sighting was a couple of days ago, Tuesday, Cleckheaton town centre. When did you last see him?’

‘Tuesday.’

‘Last time you spoke on the phone? Last WhatsApp, text message?’

‘Tuesday.’

She had wilted a little by now, and her answers were automatic. She was staring into space. But she was thinking.

‘Does his mum know?’ she asked.

‘Just been to see her. She thinks the world of you. Called you an angel. You’ve been helping Craig to sell illegal drugs. How does that make you an angel?’

‘Helping him to sell? No. Telling him what not to sell.’

‘Go on.’

‘Minimizing the risks. I told him to sell cannabis. Spliffs and shit.’

‘You mean rather than stronger stuff?’

‘It’s gonna be legal sooner or later. Look at Portugal. Look at America. California, Oregon, Vermont… Can’t stop it. You lot can’t, that’s for sure.’

‘Never said I wanted to,’ he said. ‘And you missed Massachusetts, by the way. The Puritan State. Legal there, too, I believe.’

She was not impressed by his knowledge of international drug legalization. In fact, she looked entirely wrapped up in her own thoughts, as if she’d already shut him out.

He only had a few minutes. His boss wanted to speak to him back at HQ. He gave it one last try.

‘OK. There are a dozen detectives on this case, plus me. If we’re gonna find who did this, you’ll need to tell me who was threatening Craig and his mum, how they were doing it, when they were doing it. And lastly, Lisa, look at me…’ She did. ‘Tell me why Craig was using his mum’s car to sell drugs. In fact, you can start with that. Go.’

She ran a hand through her hair.

‘There’s competition. They had his mum’s address. He got warned off. But he’s a stubborn bastard. Was.’

She stopped, a look of intense concentration on her face.

‘They threatened him?’ Joe asked. ‘And what, he ignored them?’

She nodded. Nothing else.

Joe continued.