‘No, I’ve been talking to the helicopter instructor over here, and the head of the AAIB investigation,’ she said. ‘She’s a strong addition and doesn’t mess around. Is it the footage of the egging?’ she asked.

‘Yup, we’ve got it from several angles from a dozen journalists, and there are a few characters I’ve looked into. Turns out several of them have travel bans and public disturbance orders against them, including Neil Hardy, who was charged and is awaiting sentencing.’

‘Is it such a big leap to helicopter sabotage?’ she asked.

‘Well, we’ll soon find out. I’ve got them being rounded up and interviewed. Turns out Neil Hardy, the one who threw the egg, is a coordinator and leader figure, and he’s still in the area. We should have him in here soon,’ he said.

‘Good. If nothing else, he’ll be willing to talk to avoid a hefty fine, or, given his previous, time inside for the assault.’

‘I was going to call the journo as well, the one who wrote the story. He’s a nerd like me and we speak the same language. It’s actually a very good article,’ he said.

‘I’m sure the family won’t agree with you, and it’s something the Home Office won’t want linked to party funds. Talk to him anyway, see if he’s been pressured either way,’ she said. ‘The AAIB have found a slit hydraulic line on the ’copter.’

‘Does that mean anything? The g-force of the crash could do that, no?’

Rob was a natural sceptic and that’s why he was a worthy addition to her team. He needed proof, like she did.

‘Zoe told me, and the pilot instructor agreed, that wear and tear presents as erosion on hydraulic lines; they’re thick reinforced tubes, made of some clever amalgam of plastic and metal on modern helicopters like the AW139, or so I’m told. It’s not chafed, it’s cut, and it would have to have been done pre-flight. It would have leaked fluid slowly and could either cause a fire from the vapour, or lead to loss of pilot control on the cyclic stick and yaw pedals,’ she said.

‘Jesus, Kelly, you sound like a techy! Welcome to my world.’

‘I got a crash course – excuse the awful pun. They said that the pilots would have been frantic trying to press the yaw pedals and pull the cyclic back and forth trying to straighten her up, and it would have been horrendous for the passengers. The flight data record should show us; it’s all computerised on these models, all they have to do is download the programme.’

‘Like on Air Crash Investigation?’ Rob asked.