He raises one eyebrow. ‘That’s a strange logic. The police have already had a look. They didn’t find anything particularly helpful.’

He smooths his silver hair back, lifts his glasses and rubs his eye with his fist. The gesture makes him look younger, more approachable.

‘Nick loves this job and has great respect for you. He would never have done this voluntarily. Something has happened to him.’

He lifts an eyebrow. ‘Clearly.’

‘I know that you’ve known Nick since his teens. Why would you have kept that secret?’

He looks as though he truly pities me. ‘It’s no secret, unless Nick had some reason for not telling you. I’m surprised he hasn’t.’

So am I. I try something else. ‘Can you tell me anything about that holiday, when Nick’s family came to stay? I’ve talked about it with his parents, but they haven’t been able to tell me much. I know you were kind to him.’

He hesitates, then nods. ‘He was having a tough time. Particularly from the older girls. I felt sorry for him – I hadn’t forgotten what it was like to be an adolescent boy. It was three against one, poor kid. So I talked to him and encouraged him. It wasn’t a chore. I liked him.’

I throw down my final card. ‘And yet you still pulled the rug out from his father’s restaurant business.’

To my surprise he laughs. ‘Christ, not that again. Business is business. I would hardly be the CEO of my own hedge-fund company if I allowed sentiment to get in the way of decision-making.’

‘So you don’t care?’

His eyes pierce through me. ‘Not about that, no.’

I nod slowly. ‘And Izzy Wells’ death? You cared about that, I presume?’

His eyes turn to flint. I’ve gone too far. Of course he cares.

‘I apologize,’ I say quickly. ‘That was uncalled for.’

He waits before responding, then shrugs. His voice is curt, and I can feel the emotion reined in. ‘It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. It changed everything; ruined lives.’

He clasps the back of his neck and rubs it. His body language has been so spare until now that the gesture is shocking. He’s been so careful not to give anything away. Maybe he’s human, after all.

‘What made you offer Nick a job?’

‘He got in touch about interning with us a couple of years later. I didn’t think I wanted any reminders, but in the end I agreed to see him, and I was glad I did. None of it was his fault, and he didn’t deserve to have what happened affect his future. After university he worked for HSBC, and after that I took him on.’

‘And now you’ve fired him.’