‘We weren’t sure, but we had to take precautions. It just seemed safer to keep it under wraps. That’s why I’m rather annoyed with you that we keep stumbling across the work of one of your officers, DC Corey Williams.’

‘Well, I take full responsibility for it. I needed someone to see what was fuelling the disappearances and abductions, and you weren’t telling me. I don’t want to get in your way, but my case can’t make progress without those financial details.’

‘The SFO are hopping mad. We’ve just one senior contact, a whistleblower in the holding company who has fed us details and documents about irregularities across the group. But now your officer has been in touch with the finance director and corporate treasurer. There’s a danger she might have compromised the whole operation by asking too many questions. If documents end up being shredded before we get there, it will be on your head.’

‘I asked her to be careful. But look, ma’am, from what you’re describing, this goes way beyond Ozzy Blanchard just doing a little side-hustle.’

‘Yes, he’s a minor player, and his fraud is only one of several across Aqua Holdings companies.’ She started to draw on a napkin, sketching out boxes connected by arrows. ‘Basic construction fraud is very common. Contractors over-bill for hours worked, materials purchased, equipment hire, that kind of thing. If the on-site surveyor for the customer is complicit, they will just share the proceeds. It’s the simplest fraud imaginable, because it doesn’t leave much of a paper trail. However, this one is a bit more sophisticated.’ She paused while the two elegant dark wood plates were laid down. Sushi roll with avocado and cucumber, beautifully cut pieces of salmon and tuna, and a delicately arranged flower of translucent pink pickled ginger, plus a little knob of fiery green wasabi paste.

Once the waiter was out of earshot, she continued: ‘We spent a long time digging into the audit trail between CJT Contracting (Hants) Ltd, the Ticketts’ main company, and Aqua Western, which look fine, and did not exceed the purchase order. However, we have discovered an additional stream of payments from a different Aqua Western account that do not show up in the bank accounts of the contractor.’

‘Okay, I’m with you so far,’ Gillard said as they both lifted their chopsticks and began to eat. The salmon was tender and delicious, the flavour balanced by the salty umami flavour of soy, and the fiery wasabi.

‘There are regional contingency accounts, supposedly controlled and signed off at the head office level. The whistleblower noticed that several of these accounts across the group had been ransacked over the course of a year or two. Someone senior within Aqua Western had found a way to siphon off money while balancing the books.’

‘So what was happening to this money?’