‘A bit. This year we were both doing more study. Rosie and I are both doing doctorates, so getting together has been a bit more difficult. We’re in different departments, so I guess I only got to see her for lunch a few times a week and not so much in the evenings. She had a lot of lab work to do.’

‘What sort of lab work?’

‘She was doing work in the Pharmacy Department with medications, dosage forms for insulin, that kind of thing.’

‘You don’t do those kinds of things?’

‘No, I’m in Computer Sciences. Our building is on the other side of the campus.’ He didn’t look like what I’d consider a computer geek. His short-cropped dark hair had a very up-to-date cut and his clothing had a hip kind of style. None of that could deflect from the pain written across his face.

‘So how often did you talk, then?’

‘You mean on the phone?’

‘Yes.’

I was pleased the detective’s voice was firm and patient. He must have realised James Collingwood was no suspect. He seemed a bit of a sap, a good-looking one, but a sap all the same, truth be told.

‘Not that often, actually. A couple of times a week. We messaged or texted all the time though.’

What a strange age it was when you did your romancing via text message. I supposed it helped with the abstinence if you didn’t actually get within arms’ length of each other. What you can’t touch you can’t get into trouble with. They can’t have been hopelessly in love. If they were, they would have seen each other every day come hell or high water. Little things like clashing timetables and pressing deadlines would not have kept me from my Mr Right, if there was such a creature. Rampant ardour was a hard beast to restrain. I decided they’d had an odd kind of a relationship.

‘When you did talk, did Miss Bateman mention she was having difficulties with anyone? Her flatmates or anyone at the university?’

He shook his head slowly.

‘Her flatmates are cool. I thought she was really lucky with them. There was one who kept leaving her heater on thermostat all day when she wasn’t even home, which pissed them all off ’cos they divided up their power bill equally, but I think they’d sorted that out. They’re a great bunch of girls and they were good friends.’

‘What about at university? Did she say there were any issues?’

‘No, not that I can think of. She didn’t really talk much about her studies.’

‘Why was that? Was she avoiding talk about her studies? Was she struggling with them?’

Too many questions at once, I thought, don’t bamboozle the guy.