‘We spend most of our time at my place. He has his own place in Soho.’

‘Have you been there since he went missing?’

‘Yes. I went to see if he was there.’

‘And was he?’

‘No. Of course not.’

‘You mentioned that some people hate him. Did Lewis mention anyone that might want to do him harm?’

She begins to twist a ring on her little finger. ‘No one, aside from the usual social media trolls.’

‘Has he been in touch with you since he was reported missing?’

She shakes her head and looks away. ‘No.’

‘Has Lewis ever gone missing like this before?’

‘Not for this length of time.’

‘It must have been quite an argument,’ says Archer.

Suskind’s eyes snap upward and she glares at Archer, who levels her gaze.

‘Miss Suskind, when you spoke to my colleagues you implied that Mr Faulkner might be off on one of his “benders”. When they asked if that involved drinking, you replied, “And the rest.” ’

Suskind rubs her neck. ‘I don’t know why I said that. I was angry, I suppose.’

‘Is Lewis Faulkner taking drugs, Miss Suskind?’

Suskind swallows and shoots a cautious glance at the door behind them.

‘Anything you tell us may help find him. Please.’

‘I’ve said too much already.’

Archer glances at Quinn, who shrugs. She stands and Quinn follows.

‘We appreciate your time. If anything does come to mind . . .’

Suskind’s eyes begin to well and she trembles. ‘There is something.’ She pulls a tissue from a flower-patterned box on her desk and dabs her eyes.

Archer and Quinn sit back down.

‘We argued because I finished with him. I told him it was over.’

She blows her nose on the tissue.

‘You didn’t mention that when you spoke to the police.’

Suskind looks down and shakes her head.

‘May I ask why you wanted to end your relationship?’

‘It was becoming too much. He’s a controlling bully.’

‘Why you did you keep this back from the police?’

‘It wasn’t relevant. Anyway, I just assumed he’d disappeared to blow off steam.’

‘Did he hurt you, physically?’

‘No.’

‘Was he using drugs?’ asks Quinn.

Suskind hesitates before answering. ‘We were out at a party and he was gracious, polite and sociable, as always. He kept disappearing to the loo to “spend a penny”, as he liked to say. Each time he came back his personality would change. He’d be more fired up, loud, obnoxious. His colleagues noticed it too and he was warned, but he ignored them. He was becoming toxic and no one wanted anything to do with him. He was put on gardening leave and I’d heard he was about to lose his job. He knew that was coming. Everyone did.’

‘Did Sir Peter Davis know about this?’

Suskind nods, pulls two more tissues from the box and weeps quietly into them. ‘Despite all that I’m so worried about him.’