‘You came to our house,’ I say. ‘You came to see him. What was all that about if he means so little to you?’

‘I was genuinely concerned, and I was in the area.’

‘A bit of a coincidence, wasn’t it?’

‘Not really. We visit those friends regularly. Look, Grace, I am very sorry this has happened. And I wholeheartedly agree with you, the email is crass and insensitive. It should never have been sent.’

‘No, it shouldn’t.’

Despite myself, I am calmed. There is so much understanding in his voice that I’m lulled into thinking he’s about to metaphorically rip the letter up and retract.

‘But this isn’t a charity,’ he says. Disconcertingly, he’s still smiling. ‘And I can’t treat Nick differently from anyone else in my employ. It wouldn’t be ethical. He’s failed to let us know that he won’t be in. He’s missed crucial meetings and deadlines and in doing so has caused the firm, and me, embarrassment. I’m being generous in allowing him until the end of the month to give me a satisfactory explanation.’

‘How can he give you that if he’s in trouble?’

‘We don’t know that he is.’

‘You’ve had a visit from the police. That’s a big clue.’

He sighs and picks up his expensive-looking pen, then lays it down again. ‘Nick is probably having a midlife crisis. He’s gone off to find himself, revisit his youth. For all you know he’s sunning himself on a beach in Thailand. He won’t be the first man to do that. Maybe he wanted out of the relationship but was too much of a coward to tell you to your face. Surely you’ve considered that?’

I stare at him, outraged. ‘You couldn’t care less, could you?’

‘Of course I care,’ he says. ‘Please tell me what I can do to help you.’

‘Tell me what you and Nick rowed about that Friday.’

He looks surprised. ‘We might have disagreed. We do from time to time. I consider it part of running a healthy company.’

I shake my head. ‘No. Phillipa says you had a massive row.’ I feel a twinge of guilt, even as I say it. I shouldn’t have named her specifically.

He sighs. ‘We argued about an unhappy client. It happens. Water under the bridge. Obviously, I can’t go into details.’

‘Obviously.’ I cross my arms and hold his gaze, refusing to be the first to look away. ‘I’d like you to ask Phillipa to give me access to Nick’s emails and search history.’

He laughs out loud. ‘You can’t seriously believe I’d do that.’

‘I just want to see if there’s anything personal in there, anything that might help find him. Phillipa is welcome to see what I look at. You owe him.’