I’m still angry with Stephanie as I drive away. I know her life is collapsing around her, but she has no right to make assumptions about other people. By the time I reach home, my anger hasn’t dissipated. In the house, I throw my bag on the table. Then thinking what Stephanie said – if I talk to the police – I realise there’s every chance she isn’t going to. Without hesitating, I grab my phone and call the number DS May gave me.

She answers straight away. ‘DS May.’

‘Hello. It’s Elise Buckley.’ I’m floundering, suddenly less sure of what I want to say, terrified I’m opening a Pandora’s box. But I can’t go back. ‘There’s something I think you need to know.’

*

In the thirty minutes before DS May’s car pulls up in the drive, I swing between fobbing her off and telling her the truth about James, but in the end, duty wins over. James is involved in a business that puts children at risk. I should have gone to the police the moment I found out. But there’s Stephanie, too. I saw a different side to her earlier – unstable, poisonous. Whatever she said about calling the police, I don’t trust her.

‘Come in.’ I hold the door open for DS May, who looks like someone’s mum rather than a policewoman in her printed cord skirt and suede boots. She follows me into the kitchen.

‘What was it you wanted to tell me?’

‘Would you like to sit down?’ As she goes over to the table and pulls out one of the chairs, I take a deep breath. ‘James Hampton is caught up in something he’s been hiding from you. Stephanie, his wife, told me about it.’ I sit down opposite her.

Switching on her notebook, DS May frowns at me. ‘What exactly has he done?’

‘Someone offered him the chance to invest in a porn business. Apparently they told him they’re developing an app, which is why they were looking for investors.’ I hesitate. ‘She said he knew what he was investing in was porn – there’s a website. But what he didn’t know until later was that there are images of children, too.’

She leans forward, her gaze suddenly sharp. ‘Do you know the name of it?’

‘She didn’t say. She was very upset.’

‘What else has she told you?’