Darryl huffed. ‘The last time I saw Danny he was sat at that table over there. It woulda been Saturday afternoon and he was stressed out, I could tell. I didn’t ask him what it was about, none of my business! He was lining them up right from the start. At the bar. Then this bloke comes in and they go over to that table. This bloke gets him another couple of beers in and Danny’s like, out of it. As hammered as I’ve seen him. He can’t have eaten anything all day, not the way he went. Then this guy comes over, says he’s got to take him back to his room and slips me a roll of notes. Says how much he would appreciate it if I forgot that he was ever there. Or ever had been. Those were his words, pretty much spot on, I think!’

‘Or what?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He didn’t make any threats? Tell you would what happen if you told anyone?’

‘No. It wasn’t like that. Like I said, he gave me money to mind my own business. I guess he thought that would do the job but I didn’t know it would be the cops asking about it! A hundred don’t cover that. I know you lot, you could just look at CCTV, ask about and show me up as a liar.’

‘Now that you’re offering.’

Darryl rolled his eyes. ‘There’s nothing in here. I think there’s a camera outside, covers the door but I can’t work the system.’

‘Can you download it?’

‘Reception over at the hotel run it. We don’t have nothing to do with it over here.’

‘And it was definitely Saturday afternoon?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What time?’

‘Musta been like, half one, two maybe. He don’t often get in here for the afternoon. I was on an overtime shift so I know it was Saturday.’

‘What else can you tell me about the man he was with?’

Darryl shrugged. ‘Old, white fella but tanned. Well-dressed.’

‘Old? How old?’

‘I dunno, older than you! What are you? Like thirty-five, tops! Ain’t you proper young and proper hench to be a police inspector?’

Joel took a sip of his bittersweet and pulled his lips back over his teeth at the taste. ‘What can I say, this was just a Saturday job to start with. So this man was older than me, was he?’

‘Like fifty. In good shape though, not as big as you but still a gym rat I reckon. I thought he might have been … you know … like maybe he was interested in Danny. You see it all at these places, I tell you. Not that there’s anything wrong with that …’

‘You mean gay?’