‘Not today,’ said the man, without a smile. ‘What we’d like from you is as much information as possible about the deceased. Ideally, we’d like you to recall every word she said to you.’

For a few seconds, Thea was transported to another police interview, some years earlier, in a very similar room. She had been on her very first house-sitting job and had heard a man being killed in the garden outside. The detective superintendent who interviewed her had become rather more than a friend in the following months. He had been kind and understanding – a very nice man, as all her friends and relations observed. Just as Drew Slocombe was a very nice man, of course. She sighed and did her best to concentrate on the matter in hand. ‘I’ll try,’ she said.130

It turned out to be easier than she’d expected. The interviewer prompted her with just the right questions, and she found herself repeating many of Grace’s actual words. ‘She didn’t say very much, actually,’ she realised. ‘A lot of it was just sort of implied. But I do remember her saying, “My father’s British and my mother’s Chinese.” She spoke perfect English, so I guess she’s lived here for most of her adult life.’

‘Okay. The pathologist thinks she’s about fifty – would you agree with that?’

‘She looked younger, but I wouldn’t argue about it.’

‘Did she say any more about her family? Children?’

‘Nope. Just parents. I think they’re dead.’ She paused. ‘Actually, I’m not sure about that. Perhaps just her father’s dead. I don’t remember anything about her mother.’

‘But she never gave a surname? Presumably it’s something British – that’s if her parents were married, I suppose.’

‘Definitely no surname,’ said Thea. ‘And I’m not totally sure I believe the “Grace”. The trouble is, even at the time, I wasn’t sure I could believe much of her story.’

‘Interesting,’ said the interviewer dubiously. ‘Now − you told our officers yesterday that she’d come here from Manchester.’

‘So I did. That’s what she said. As far as I can recall, she’d been met in Manchester – I guess the airport, but she didn’t say that, so it’s probably just me jumping to a conclusion – and driven down here. Something happened in the car to frighten her, and she made a desperate escape, leaving all her things behind. She didn’t have 131money or phone or passport or anything. She seemed to think she could be traced if she used a cash card or a phone. I told her that was ridiculous.’

‘Hm,’ said the interviewer. ‘So it didn’t seem very credible to you?’

‘Right. Although she was genuinely frightened. I am sure about that. I mean – something bad must have happened to send her off into the woods with absolutely no possessions.’

‘You’ve seen the TV reports of refugees and migrants arriving empty-handed, haven’t you? They deliberately destroy their passports. It makes it more difficult for the immigration people to decide what to do with them. They don’t know where to send them back to, if they think that’s what ought to happen.’