‘Thank you for your time, Ms Villiers,’ Singh said after a moment or two, judging that it was time for us to leave, and reaching out to shake her hand. ‘We’re sorry to have disturbed your day.’

‘Not at all,’ she said, standing up and escorting us to the door. ‘I hope you find Leon soon. I’m sure I’m right, you know – he knows what happened, but he doesn’t think you’ll believe him. He’s hiding because he doesn’t have a safe place to go. The school isn’t safe for him any more because he knows someone there is a murderer.’

‘You really think one of the staff members you employed could be capable of murder?’ I asked as we were about to leave, my hand on the doorframe.

‘Oh, of course. I’m sure all of us are capable of murder, given the right circumstances.’

Chapter 30

The drive home was a blur; I was on autopilot and I was surprised to find myself pulling into my usual parking spot. I barely noticed Singh saying goodbye and getting into his own car, so shaken was I by the possibility that Mike could be Steve’s murderer.

By the evening I knew I needed to do something to drag myself out of my own thoughts, so I took Anna into Lincoln for dinner and a film. It was rare to find subtitled showings at the weekend, so I was thrilled there was one, hoping it made up for us missing the Christmas market. There was only one option with subtitles, so we didn’t get to choose, but it had Bradley Cooper in it so that suited both of us just fine.

Popcorn or pick and mix? I asked her as we walked up Brayford Wharf towards the cinema.

Well, you need cheering up, she replied with a mischievous grin. Both.

I laughed. Seriously? I’m still full of sushi.

Popcorn is basically just air, she told me. You can’t be too full for popcorn.

Okay. Sweet or salty?

My turn to choose, so salty.

We had the same argument every time we went to the cinema, and had done since we were teenagers. Anna liked salty popcorn, I liked sweet. Now we were adults, of course we knew we could buy our own, but it was still fun to repeat our childhood bickering and then in the end settle for a mixed tub to share. If I was honest, that was exactly the way I liked it now.

I’d bought our tickets online, so I went to the ticket machine while Anna browsed the sweets. While I was waiting for a machine, a group came in behind us and made a beeline for where she was standing, kids shoving each other in their effort to get to the pick and mix stand.

Sorry, sorry, one of them signed to himself as they bumped into her.