‘All in a day’s work. Though next time you want to hack into someone’s computer,’ I add, ‘talk to me first. It took me hours to make sure that virus you uploaded couldn’t be traced back to you.’

‘I didn’t want to involve you,’ Millie says.

‘I am involved,’ I say. ‘If something involves you, it involves me. You should have told me when Stacey asked you to break into Felix’s office in the first place. You know the rules.’

‘It wasn’t about us. And sometimes I think you enjoy that sort of thing a little too much, Tom.’

‘Well, you’re safe now,’ I say, choosing to ignore the implications of that last remark. ‘Stacey’s on the back foot. She’ll be too busy saving her own skin to take any more pot shots at you.’

‘She’s cornered,’ Millie corrects. ‘That makes her more dangerous than ever.’

‘But now the police have that video of her—’

‘Don’t be naive, Tom,’ she says, putting a pod of coffee in the machine. ‘It’s bought me a bit of time, that’s all. By tomorrow morning, Stacey will have given a tearful press statement on her front steps admitting to being a long-term survivor of domestic abuse, and claiming the video has been taken out of context and she was just defending herself. She’ll say she’s traumatised and seeking counselling, and she’ll be back on the Morning Express Show next week launching a campaign to support women who fight back against their abusers. Everyone loves a redemption story. Just ask Martha Stewart.’

‘What about Felix?’

‘What about him?’

‘Well, he’s still missing. She can’t explain that away.’

‘Without a body the police can’t even prove a crime has been committed,’ Millie says, tossing the used coffee pod into the bin. ‘And all the available evidence points to me, not her.’

‘So where were you and Harper this morning?’ I ask.

‘Are you sure you want to know?’

‘We’re in this together, remember?’

‘One of Harper’s fans got in touch with her,’ Millie says, pulling out a kitchen stool. ‘Apparently the girl’s mother is best friends with the daughter of a woman who fostered Stacey when she was a teenager. We went to see her this morning. It turns out Stacey was in and out of the foster care system four or five times before her parents died.’ She takes a sip of coffee. ‘The first time her parents put her into care was when she strangled the family cat with barbed wire when she was seven.’

‘Jesus!’