Again there was a before and after. The before picture showed him restrained by any number of ropes. They held him tight while a half-pipe was taped to jut out of his fist and into his mouth to give Joel his answer as to why Danny Evans had been shot in the face. Another click of the mouse and more questions were quickly answered.

This time it was video footage that filled the screen. It looked like it was from a CCTV camera. Colour but grainy. Good enough. A different man again appeared on the left side. He looked older than Nicholas, scrawnier for sure. Danny was restrained on the right of the screen. The scrawny man walked from left to right, checked something he was holding in his hands then almost got onto the man’s lap. Both the officers leaned away from the screen at the moment it flared white and Danny’s head changed shape. Marilyn remained straight-backed and unflinching.

‘That is Richard Maddox.’ She stood up, her long finger still pointing at the man who had pulled the trigger. Then she backed away, again turning her attention to the boxes. She selected one, discarding the lid to bring out a black A4 folder. ‘This is what Richard Maddox was given. This contains all the details about how Danny Evans ran his wife down.’

Joel took it from her. The first page was a real attention grabber:

ANGELA MADDOX – DECEASED.

‘It is all a lie,’ Marilyn continued. ‘He made it all on this computer. I saw them. Richard was angry about his wife, angry that the police never got anyone for it. That was in the paper too.’

‘Where is his computer?’

‘He will have it with him. He always has it with him. I had to copy them when he was here. In the shower, or asleep. He wasn’t careful, he would never think for one minute …’ She clamped her mouth shut, her nose twitching her defiance. ‘It was why I agreed to let him stay. I said he had to stay in here. He always left it on the floor under his bed … I didn’t even feel scared. I knew that I had to give this to Hannah and then he would be gone for ever. And if I didn’t, if he caught me, he would kill me too and this would all be over. But I didn’t know … I didn’t know it was already too late, that Hannah was …’ The steel slipped and for a moment Joel thought she was about to be overwhelmed with emotion. Instead she snapped back straight. ‘You have to promise me. You have to give me your word too, just like she did. He cannot come back here. Not ever.’

‘Where is he, Marilyn?’ Joel said.