‘I understand Easton was knocked to the ground when he went to speak to the occupants of the flat. But I’m presuming you’ll be speaking to him in more detail as to the circumstances of that? I wasn’t there.’

Baxter nodded, not giving anything away.

‘And what happened when you arrived?’ he asked.

‘I established that whoever had attacked Easton had gone, and that the cordon and heavy police presence on the street was unnecessary. I asked for Easton and Constable—’

‘Constable?’

‘DC Constable. That’s his name, sir.’

Baxter looked unsure at that but didn’t say anything.

‘I asked for Easton to get Constable to clear the cordon. Meanwhile I did a brief search of the flat.’

‘A brief search?’

‘I’d already been told by Easton that nothing of interest had been found. I simply wanted to take a quick look to see if my impression was consistent with what he had told me.’

‘And was it?’

‘It appeared so, yes. As I was exiting the flat I noticed that most pedestrians had already moved away but one man who’d remained caught my interest.’

‘Dean Harland?’

‘It appears so.’

‘How did he catch your interest?’

‘He was just…’ Dani searched for the words. She glanced from Baxter to McNair and back again. She sank into her seat. She could tell that whatever she said wasn’t going to be good enough for these two.

‘He was just, what, DI Stephens?’

‘He was loitering.’

‘Loitering? Is that a crime now?’

‘Of course not. But I am a detective. He took my interest. He had a hoodie covering his face. He looked out of place, like he was more than just a curious passer-by. It was a gut instinct.’

‘And what happened next?’

‘I simply wanted to understand who he was. I’d say it was perfectly reasonable to assume he was connected to the flat somehow, that maybe he knew the tenant or that he was the tenant.’

‘So how exactly did this result in a foot chase?’

‘Easton and I, we just crossed the road, we didn’t… we didn’t do anything. As soon as he saw us moving towards him he ran.’

‘Why did you give chase?’

‘Because he ran! Why would he run? Unless he had something to hide.’

‘Quite an assumption, given that you didn’t know who he was.’

‘Would you not have made that same assumption?’

‘That’s not for me to say.’

‘No, you just get to pick apart other people’s actions after the event.’

‘DI Stephens, that tone is not going to help matters. We are not trying to trip you up here. We simply need to establish the course of events.’

‘Fine.’

‘You were in plain clothes, correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘At any point did you shout to Mr Harland to inform him that you were police officers?’

‘No.’

‘Is there a reason why not?’