‘Only because you’re worried your arrest might get back to Pam. You may need them as defence witnesses – especially if you end up in court. If a jury finds you guilty, you could get ten years in prison.’

She knew this would frighten Tony, but that was her intention.

He looked at her with fear in his eyes.

‘Ten years?’

She nodded. ‘And I don’t think Pam would stand by you either—’

‘Are you going to tell her?’

‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.’

‘I don’t want to lose Pam or Nathan. I love them both with all my heart.’

‘You should have thought of that before you went over the side with another woman!’

‘I didn’t mean to—’

‘Oh, so you accidentally went down the alley and, without realising, fondled each other’s genitals?’

‘It just sort of happened . . . I’d had a few drinks and, liked the fact another woman fancied me.’

‘Drink is not an excuse. Have you been unfaithful before?’

‘No, never. But I haven’t had sex with Pam since she had the baby. When the woman touched me, I felt aroused—’

‘So, you’re saying you would have had sex with her if the police hadn’t come along?’

He started to cry. ‘I guess so, yes.’

‘You need to listen to Jane’s advice, Tony. I’ll go and call the duty solicitor so he can represent you during the interview.’

Boon felt that the conversation was getting personal and he should give them some time alone.

‘Thanks, Simon. I won’t be much longer.’

She sat down next to Tony.

‘I know you’re not capable of attacking or sexually assaulting a woman, Tony, but you created this mess and I can’t get involved.’

‘Are you going to tell Pam?’

‘There’s part of me that says I should as she’s my sister, but I also feel you should tell her. Are the two of you having problems at home?’

‘She was fine when Nathan was born, then after a couple of months she became distant and didn’t want to have any form of physical contact with me. I thought at first she might be seeing someone else, but I knew I was imagining it and realised she was just worn out from looking after Nathan day and night. I tried to help Pam more with him, but she wouldn’t let me and kept saying I didn’t know what I was doing. She doesn’t even like me picking him up in case I drop him.’

‘Sounds like a bad case of the baby blues. You need to talk to her, Tony – tell her how you feel and try and resolve the situation.’