‘Why did you tell them I wasn’t in bed with you, the night Alex died? Why?’ he said quietly. He opened his eyes and looked at her without turning his head. ‘Huh?’

‘I didn’t, did I? I was telling them everything. Every minute. I didn’t mean you weren’t there.’

‘OK, never mind.’

‘What were they like? How did they treat you?’

He shrugged and looked away. They left the city. Blunted by present comforts, the last two hours blurred. He thought of Karen Koch, and smiled. He took Bea’s hand. He felt her relief. He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back.

‘What have you been doing, anyway?’ he said.

‘I was at the chateau, with my parents.’

She looked exhausted.

‘Sorry, Arun,’ he said, ‘d’you think you could ask the guy to turn the air con down? Or off? My wife’s got this weird idea we should save the planet or something.’

He leaned across her, and rolled down her window, and kissed her on his way back. She smiled.

‘What else happened?’ she said.

‘Oh, you know, just the usual shit that happens down the gendarmerie,’ he said. ‘Not much.’

The open windows brought the smell of warm grass, into the car. Arun twisted round to speak to them over his reading glasses.

‘Now,’ he said, ‘what would you like to do?’

‘What time is it?’ Dan took out his phone, disorientated.

‘Griff would love you to come back to the chateau. Yes?’

‘Yeah, why not?’ said Dan.

‘Righty-ho,’ said Arun.

‘Why?’ said Bea.

‘To debrief your dad, and thank him,’ said Dan.

‘He didn’t do anything.’

‘How do you know?’

‘They weren’t going to keep you in there,’ said Bea.

‘I’m happy you’re so chilled about it.’

‘I’m not.’

‘They were writing in notebooks, Bea – with pencils. It was scary. No wonder Griff records all his meetings.’

‘But it’s impossible. It’s ridiculous.’

‘You weren’t there.’

‘It must have been horrible,’ she said.

‘Luckily, your dad isn’t just sitting around while some Frenchman decides the only black man in the village is a drug-dealing murderer. He has contacts.’

‘It doesn’t make him God.’

‘Your car is up at the chateau, isn’t it?’ interjected Arun. ‘And there’s something Griff needs to hear about.’

‘What is it?’ Bea asked.

‘I’ll tell you when we get there,’ said Dan.

‘Dan. Tell me now.’

He didn’t want to. ‘They’ve got a CCTV picture,’ he said gently. ‘A photograph of Alex at a petrol station somewhere, with a guy.’

‘What guy?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Where?’

‘I don’t know. And it wasn’t clear at all. It could have been anyone.’

She stared at him. Her eyes looked particularly clear when she heard things that hurt her, he noticed. He had seen it enough times recently to have learned the look; clear, a little wider, very steady.