I stop, break off and reach for Ms Jones’s file. All of her details are in here. The ordered facts. The date almost a year ago when she took possession of the flat; the name of the manager who moved her in; Ms Jones’s signature for her two sets of keys.

The file I have holds various other forms. Her tenancy agreement, various personal details. I hand them over.

‘And when did you last see this tenant?’ the officer asks.

I feel the heat climb from my neck to my temples. ‘I never did,’ I say. The truth. ‘Someone else was in charge the day she moved in.’

The officer looks at the papers I’ve given her. ‘This was a year ago?’

I nod. ‘Yes. Just about.’

The officer takes longer than normal to write this down in her notebook. I can see all the questions in her head.

‘I’ll take that colleague’s details, if you have them. If necessary, we’ll follow up with them.’

‘Yes. Of course.’ I have the details, right here, in my drawer. A forwarding email, a personal mobile. Look how organized I am. I copy them all down for her.

‘Did you have any contact from Ms Jones since then? Were there any repairs she required? Any complaints?’

I shake my head. ‘Nothing from her. She never contacted me. And –’ I check the file to make sure – ‘nothing from neighbours either. It was only when we found in November that her rent wasn’t being paid that we had any reason to be in touch. She was a private tenant. She paid her rent to us via direct debit.’

‘And what did you do then?’

‘We – I – tried to call. I couldn’t reach her, her phone seemed to be switched off. Then we sent letters. That’s our protocol, to ring and then officially write. We followed our standard procedures for arrears.’

‘That’s common for your tenants?’

‘Not common, but it happens sometimes.’ I think about all the protocols we have. A directive for any situation that might arise. But this situation has no real protocol; this situation feels completely unreal.

‘Okay, so no rent … But her electricity bills were all up to date?’

I stare at her, wrong-footed, confused.

She speaks slowly, as if I’m not keeping up. ‘You said her radio was playing. I’m assuming that she had it plugged in.’

‘Of course. Yes. It was. It was playing.’

‘All right. So, any explanation for that? Why she’d stop her rent but keep her utilities running?’