When we take a break in the DI’s office, I explain where we’re at. ‘I think he’s frightened, sir,’ I tell him. ‘Either that, or he’s hoping we don’t have anything concrete on him.’

‘Then we need to make him see how misguided that notion is, don’t we?’ he says impatiently. ‘What about Mason’s house? Any luck?’

‘Apparently, it’s locked up, sir, the curtains and blinds drawn. It looks as though he’s gone away.’

‘Try and find out where he is. We need to speak to him.’ The DI sounds frustrated. ‘What’s the time?’

‘Twelve, sir.’

‘Right. We’ll question Hampton together this afternoon.’

*

When we go into the interview room, James Hampton barely looks up from where he’s slumped at the table. Beside him, his lawyer’s face is blank. I pull out a chair. ‘This is DI Saunders, Mr Hampton. We have a few more questions for you.’

The DI clears his throat. ‘I understand you bought into a business through Philip Mason. Is that correct?’

The lawyer looks mildly irritated. ‘My client has already confirmed this to your colleague, just as he’s confirmed he had no idea what he was getting into.’

‘I see.’ The DI leans back in his chair. ‘Didn’t know it was porn, is that what you’re saying, Mr Hampton?’

When James Hampton shakes his head, the DI says, ‘Answer yes or no for the tape, Mr Hampton.’

At Hampton’s muttered ‘no’, I glance at his lawyer.

‘You’re already facing potential charges of the possession and distribution of pornographic images of children. Lying isn’t going to look good when you go to court. Nor is the fact that you’re perverting the course of a police investigation.’ The DI pauses. ‘You want us to believe that you invested a substantial amount of money without checking out what you were buying. Is that correct?’

It’s clear Hampton’s caught somewhere impossible. But the DI’s right. No-one invests without knowing where their money’s going – or had he been stupid enough, desperate enough, to do just that? And why is he protecting Mason?

‘All right. I knew.’ He slumps lower in his chair. ‘But not about the images of children.’

‘And you thought that was a justifiable way to – in your late wife’s words – make a lot of money?’

‘It happens,’ James Hampton mutters.

‘That doesn’t make it morally defensible. Let me get this straight. Even though you had money problems yourself, you handed over all the cash you could get your hands on to a man you took at his word to invest in a questionable business without a contract of any kind. Is that correct?’

Still, Hampton remains silent.