‘No, he doesn’t, does he?’ said Sasha. ‘I’ll be honest with you, Karin, I don’t like him very much. He strikes me as a bully, one of those men who has all these angry emotions pent up inside him, and then, boom! He’s been looking for an excuse to lash out for years, and unfortunately you were the target. Nevertheless, he’s convinced you’re keeping a secret that explains why Jerry Swann killed Becky, and why Sammi and Lucas are missing, and I have to say I agree with him. Is there something you want to tell us, Karin?’

‘There’s nothing.’

‘Do you know why we were coming to see you, myself and DS Power? Because a witness on Lydia’s estate saw you heading towards her flat last night, gone midnight actually, which is around the estimated time of her death. You told me that you didn’t see her last night.’

‘I was disappointed that we had argued earlier, Lydia was upset, she isn’t… she wasn’t strong.’ Karin glanced between Sasha and Craig. ‘I went there to clear the air between us and see how she was coping.’

‘You went to her flat.’

Karin shook her head. ‘I got to the estate and changed my mind. It wasn’t a very good idea to go there, it would only have ended in a row and I couldn’t face that, so I went home.’

‘Are you sure? Because there was no sign of forced entry at her flat, Karin, which suggests she opened the door willingly to whoever went there. It was someone she knew.’

‘Where were you earlier in the evening?’ asked Craig.

‘With a man.’ Karin told him. ‘And when I left him I went to Karin’s estate.’

‘Where were you with this man?’

‘At a hotel on the seafront.’

Craig clicked open his ballpoint. ‘And who was this bloke?’

‘I’d rather not say, he’s married.’ Craig’s pen remained poised over his notepad as Karin turned back to Sasha. ‘Am I being accused of something?’

‘We have reason to believe Lydia was murdered. She was attacked, or was involved in some kind of struggle and died, and then she was injected in an effort to make her death look like an overdose. A neighbour heard shouting in her flat, around the time you were seen on the estate, and there was no sign of forced entry.’

‘Your fingerprints are all over her flat,’ said Craig.

‘They would be,’ said Karin quickly. ‘I’ve been to Lydia’s flat many times.’

‘I’ll ask you again,’ said Sasha. ‘What did Lydia tell Matt Foster about you? What do you think he meant when he told me, you’ll know the truth about her?’

Karin’s voice was a whisper, ‘I don’t know what that means.’