James Hampton’s voice is heavy. ‘At first, he tried to charm me around to his way of thinking. When I wouldn’t go along with it, he turned nasty. He said that because the site was now in my search history, I could be reported to the police for being in possession of pornographic images of children, unless I paid him off.’

‘And you believed him.’ The DI doesn’t take his eyes off Hampton. ‘It didn’t occur to you that he wouldn’t be able to do that without incriminating himself?’

‘He told me how easy it would be to anonymously tip off the police. Then he said that they’d never find anything to link the website to him.’ Hampton looks wretched. ‘I couldn’t take the risk. At that point, I was wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. If I had …’ He shakes his head. ‘I wouldn’t have lost anything, would I? I might even have ended up richer.’

For a moment there, I’d almost felt sorry for him. But that last remark reveals the depth of his self-interestedness. Beside me, the DI stiffens.

‘Perhaps. But you’d have found yourself in just as much trouble further down the line.’ He pauses. ‘When did your wife find out?’

At the mention of Stephanie, a look of regret crosses Hampton’s face as at last he shows some remorse. ‘Recently. I hid it from her.’ He says it as though his secrecy makes what he’s done less abhorrent. ‘But she found a letter from the bank a few weeks before she died.’

He pauses and the DI says, ‘So as well as bankrupting you, your deal with Mason has effectively led to the death of your wife.’

‘Mr Hampton …’ I pause, trying to establish if there’s a link to Hollie’s death. Just as it was with Elise Buckley, there’s no easy way to ask this. ‘Did you know your wife was having an affair with Andrew Buckley?’

In his chair, he seems to rock slightly. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ he says at last through gritted teeth.

Frowning, I give him a moment before asking again. ‘Are you saying you knew about them?’

Unable to control himself this time, he snaps at me, ‘No. I didn’t.’

So what was behind his hostility towards Andrew Buckley, which Elise witnessed at Hollie’s funeral?

‘Had you been to your wife’s salon recently?’ I watch him closely.

‘Not for a while.’

I nod. ‘I guessed as much. If you had, you’d have noticed business was far from booming. I’d say she was winding it down, with every intention of closing it.’