That last statement was more of a warning to Elliot than a promise to Jocelyn. She stared at Bish, still suspicious. ‘Two minutes.’

Bish had done his research before the visit. Noor LeBrac’s former best friend was stunning, her children picture-perfect, her house on Avenue Road tasteful. And she had the Hello photographs to prove it. Jocelyn’s daughter was Bee’s age and the photographs from the magazine had the girl in a white dress identical to her mother’s, contrasting with their rich black hair. Good genes, his mother would say. Bish was surprised by the friendship between Jocelyn Bayat and Noor Sarraf. Where Noor was brilliant, Jocelyn was slightly superficial. Bish knew this from her responses in Hello. But he supposed she wasn’t given too much opportunity to convey her smarts, with an interviewer who asked about bathroom accessories and the possibility of cosmetic surgery in the future.

She led them into the lounge room, where Bish saw a Chagall he assumed was an original. He tried not to be impressed.

‘Layla had the good sense to warn me,’ she said coolly as she sat down.

‘Warn you about what?’ Elliot asked.

‘A visit from an idiot and a slob. My sister’s always had a great eye for detail. So, ask what you need to ask.’

‘Where are they?’ Elliot asked. ‘That’s all we need to know.’

‘I have absolutely no idea.’

‘Violette and the boy were caught on CCTV coming out of the Tube station down the road. We can’t think of any reason why she’d be in this area if not to see you.’

She gave them both a look of disbelief. ‘You’re lying.’

‘Why would we do that?’

‘You ask that of someone who watched what you people did to that family?’

‘When was the last time you saw Noor LeBrac, Mrs Shahbazi?’ Elliot asked.

There was a sound of keys opening the front door, a number of voices, and footsteps in the foyer.

‘Could you invite your husband in here to speak to us?’ Elliot asked, getting to his feet.

‘My husband won’t want to get involved in this.’

But Ali Shahbazi was standing at the door with his four children, ranging from age five to seventeen. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked. He was looking at Bish and Elliot but his question was directed to his wife.

‘They’re here to ask about Violette Zidane,’ Jocelyn said.

A flash of fury crossed Shahbazi’s face. ‘My family has nothing to do with the Sarrafs or the LeBracs. Do not come to my home making trouble.’

‘Nothing to do with them?’ Elliot asked in a tone Bish recognised. It meant Elliot knew something to the contrary. Which he had failed to pass on.

‘Then you’ve never visited Jamal Sarraf in Calais, Mrs Shahbazi? Or Joseph Sarraf in Alexandria? He was one of the Brackenham Four, wasn’t he? Louis Sarraf’s brother?’

‘We have friends in Alexandria,’ Jocelyn said in a bored tone. ‘And if I visit Calais, it’s for quick duty-free.’