‘Wayne was on special licence after his release. He’d have been made aware that he was always at risk of recall. He wouldn’t be allowed to contact anyone connected with Philip Alden or the Longhursts. The south-west would be permanently out of bounds. And he’d have regular meetings with his probation officer, who’d be conducting risk assessments every step of the way. That still continued even when he became an actor.’ Once again, Hawthorne caught my eye. ‘That’s why he had to turn down the part in your TV show, Tony. He wouldn’t have been allowed to play a young offender; there was too much of a chance he’d be recognised. It also explains why he’s never been to France. You might have been a bit surprised when he told you that. But then he’d never had a passport and wouldn’t have been allowed to go abroad until he got cast in that big film. A lot of this was for his own protection. He had to get special permission to perform in Tenet, but at the same time the probation service wouldn’t have wanted to hold him back. Rehabilitation is what it’s all about.

‘Unfortunately, Tenet was what caused all this trouble. You can imagine how terrified he must have been after his encounter with Harriet Throsby.’

‘She was going to tell!’ Tirian could barely get out the words.

‘That’s what she was threatening. Actually, I think she was just playing games with you. She was nasty. But you could see your big opportunity disappearing and your entire career falling apart. Killing her was the only way out.’

Hawthorne had nearly finished. Mills and Grunshaw had taken the steps up to the stage and were waiting to take hold of Tirian.

‘I had a feeling there was something wrong about Tirian the moment I saw his dressing room,’ Hawthorne said. ‘He had so few cards, no photographs, no sense of family or friends. And the way everything was so neat! The cushions exactly ten centimetres apart and the towels folded into perfect squares. That was a pretty good sign of someone who’s been institutionalised. It’s hardly surprising the rest of the cast never got close to him. Jordan called him a cold fish. Ewan said he was a loner … and that’s what he was. He was completely alone.’

Hawthorne went over to Tirian. He had stopped crying at last and was slumped in his chair, exhausted. He laid a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. ‘You shouldn’t have done it,’ he said. ‘There was no need.’

‘I was just so scared!’

‘I know. But you don’t need to be scared any more. It’s over now.’

Hawthorne stepped away.

The two police officers moved in.

26

The Dotted Line

I didn’t see Hawthorne for a while. After everything that had happened, I needed a break – and I also owed Jill an apology for all the upset I’d caused her. We booked a small hotel in the South of France, in a fortified village called Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and spent ten days in the sunshine, walking, swimming, visiting art galleries and drinking pink wine on the edge of a dusty square where the locals gathered to play boules.