‘I understand from James Hampton that you know him quite well. You spoke to him at Hollie’s funeral, didn’t you?’

‘Did I?’ As he frowns, I can’t work out whether his look of blankness is contrived before it clears. ‘Of course. I remember talking to him about how terrible it was that Hollie had died.’

He’s saying all the right things, but my instincts are on high alert. I change tack. ‘I understand you and Stephanie Hampton had an involvement.’

His eyes narrow. ‘Who told you that?’

‘There were messages on Mrs Hampton’s phone that make it very clear what was going on between you.’ As I speak, the tightening of his jaw gives him away.

Slowly arranging his hands in his lap, he considers his response. ‘Stephanie and I were intimate.’ He looks at me. ‘Plenty of people have affairs, Detective Sergeant.’ There’s the faintest hint of warning in his voice as he goes on. ‘Can I ask you what relevance this has to Hollie’s murder?’

I hold his gaze. ‘Doctor Buckley, I’m sure you’re able to understand that after a murder followed by another death – potentially a suicide – we need as much information as possible about the deceased.’ When he doesn’t say anything, I continue. ‘Mr Hampton suggested that I ask you about someone called Dylan. He said that Hollie was in love with him, but he left her. He said it destroyed Hollie. Initially, he told me to talk to your wife, but then he backtracked and said the person I needed to talk to, was you.’

‘Really.’ There’s a look of disdain on his face. ‘Well, I’m afraid Hampton’s got his facts wrong. But I’ll tell you what I know, for what it’s worth. Dylan and Hollie were boyfriend and girlfriend – a teenage thing,’ he adds dismissively. ‘But it wasn’t Dylan who left Hollie, Detective Sergeant.’ Andrew Buckley shakes his head, taking his time. ‘There are issues of doctor–patient confidentiality, obviously …’ As I go to interrupt him, he raises a hand. ‘It’s well known that Hollie Hampton had problems, but they were worse than most people realised. I was going to refer her to a psychiatrist as I was increasingly convinced she was suffering from a personality disorder. But it’s not straightforward when you’re dealing with a teenager as unstable as she was.’

I’ve heard various accounts of Hollie’s free-spirited nature and her bunking off school, but no-one’s even suggested anything like this. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘It’s difficult to pinpoint – to the layman.’ He looks at me briefly. ‘But since you ask, there wasn’t just one thing. As she and Niamh were friends, she spent quite a bit of time with us. Being a doctor, I’m obviously able to see traits that other people don’t notice. She was unpredictable, exceptionally flighty, highly emotional and given to recklessness …’