‘Well, there is something else. There is the possibility that it could have been some kind of sex game gone wrong,’ I add. ‘There were minor injuries on his wrists, which were consistent with him being, um, restrained. They were found to be fairly recent, but it’s impossible to tell exactly when they occurred, so it may not have had anything to do with the suffocation. They may have been inflicted at a different time, especially given that Rick wasn’t restrained when we found him.’

Leo rubs his forehead and I see his cheeks colour. For all his worldly seadog saltiness, it’s clear he finds this kind of subject embarrassing.

‘Right. This S&M stuff is a bit beyond me, to be honest,’ he says.

‘Well, me too,’ I say, ‘but each to their own and all that. Over the years in my capacity as a GP I’ve seen the most unlikely sex injuries on the most unlikely of people.’ I clear my throat. ‘But either way, whether it was deliberate or accidental, given that he was suffocated, there would certainly have been someone else involved, who failed to report it or, as far as we can tell, take any steps to try to help him.’ I pause. ‘He was found fully clothed, but that doesn’t entirely rule a sex game out. People get their kicks in all kinds of different ways.’

‘Indeed,’ Leo agrees, looking like he would choose to be anywhere else rather than here having this conversation with me.

‘Also, Rick had quite a lot of diazepam in his system,’ I continue. ‘It’s a prescription tranquillizer but not one that he is personally prescribed to my knowledge – at least not by me. It’s not exactly uncommon or tricky to get hold of, either from a doctor or on the black market. He had taken more than a therapeutic dose, but not enough to be fatal in most cases. Whether he or whoever administered the drug knew that is impossible to say.’

‘I see,’ Leo says. ‘Given this new information, I imagine the police will be called in again.’ He rubs his forehead. ‘But since they’ve already checked the room for forensics and all that, perhaps it won’t be necessary.’

I get the sense Leo doesn’t like the police being on board. Maybe it’s because he feels they undermine his authority, or perhaps he feels he has something to hide. Either way, he makes no secret of the fact that he likes to be in control. In charge.

‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘All I’ve had is this report – no other communication with them as yet.’