‘He has no form at all, under either name. It seems his greatest crime was being a spineless wonder. His poor family – not only have they found out he was alive and well and had just abandoned them, but they find out he’s now dead and they won’t get the chance for an explanation or even to give him an earful and a boot up the arse. What a cowardly thing to do, to take off like that and fake death, rather than own up and admit you weren’t happy. What kind of legacy is that to leave your kid? The only consolation is there doesn’t seem to have been another woman involved.’

‘Maybe he felt backed into a corner and he couldn’t think of any other way out. Some people don’t cope with stress or confrontation well and make dumb decisions.’

‘Oh, so you’re defending his actions, are you? Is that what you’d do, run away from your responsibilities?’

‘No,’ he said and smiled at me. ‘I would take my responsibilities very seriously.’

I dropped my eyes and, feeling a blush start to sneak up my face, I got to my feet with a big scrape of chair legs on the floor and made to refill the kettle with water. Not that we needed any more.

‘Well, I think running away from your problems is gutless, but hardly the actions of a cold-blooded killer. And someone who would risk their life for some dumb animal would hardly be the type to murder.’

‘There are plenty of examples out there of people who value their pets more than their own family, so don’t be fooled by some apparently kind-hearted or even spur-of-the-moment gesture.’ I gestured to Paul to see if he wanted another cuppa. He shook his head and continued. ‘And you’d said you’d had a run-in with some people the other day who seem to value animals over humans.’

‘The activists?’ I said.

‘The activists.’

‘Yeah, they made quite a spectacle. Their leader fit the description of rabid quite nicely, I thought. But even the most rabid animal-rights activists wouldn’t stoop to murder humans to protect animals. And most certainly not in this country; we’re all a bit too laid-back for mass-protest civil disobedience. They might get a bit heated – there was certainly plenty of vitriol over those native giant snails being moved because of that coal mine on the West Coast – but sanctity of life and all that. Unless someone had well and truly lost their marbles, they wouldn’t kill a human over it.’

‘It has happened before, Sam, and you of all people should know that. Sometimes I think you have too much faith in human nature.’

‘Better that than being cynical and suspecting everyone who breathes.’