‘I’ll get a couple of detectives to the pub this afternoon to talk to the landlord,’ Sasha told Vaughn. ‘Hopefully, he’ll be able to point us in the direction of some of the other regulars, and we’ll get someone to his bedsit. We’re expecting the CCTV from the cab on the train soon, but all we have at the moment is the driver’s insistence that he saw someone on the platform with a walking stick.’

‘A walking stick?’ Vaughn made a face. ‘Doesn’t sound like a fair fight.’

‘Andrew Dean would disagree with you,’ she told him. ‘They’re still finding bits of him.’

‘Okay.’ Vaughn scratched the back of his neck. ‘I’m the Senior Investigating Officer, so keep me informed.’

‘Of course.’

Sasha nodded, but didn’t make any effort to leave. She sensed Vaughn wanted to say something else and after a moment’s hesitation he shut the door to the main office.

‘I was wondering if you would…’ He looked uncomfortable, unwilling to meet her eye, which wasn’t like him at all, and she noticed he was slightly dishevelled, too. Her DCI was always so smart, and prided himself on his wardrobe of bespoke suits, fitted shirts and silk ties. But the shirt he was wearing looked unironed, as if he had worn it two days on the trot, and there was a stain at the bottom of his tie, a shadow of stubble on his chin. ‘Are you around for a quick drink after work?’

‘That shouldn’t be a prob—’ Sasha winced when she remembered.

‘You can’t make it,’ said Vaughn. ‘I understand.’

‘It’s not that,’ she told him quickly. ‘It’s just that I’m meant to be meeting my sister.’

Vaughn nodded. ‘Another time, then.’

But she felt sorry for him – he clearly had something on his mind that he wanted to talk to her about – and said, ‘I’m not meeting her till seven. Maybe we could grab a quick drink before that, at six thirty, how does that sound?’

Vaughn looked grateful. ‘Sounds good.’

He wasn’t the kind of boss who went for a drink after work and, Sasha excepted, certainly not with anyone from the Major Incident Team. Vaughn was a private man, who always headed straight home to the bosom of his family. She had met his intimidating wife, Miranda, a glamorous woman who ran some kind of charity in the City, and his sons were both on track to go to Oxbridge. Vaughn’s perfect family life often made her feel embarrassed by her own chaotic household.

So she was shocked when he said, ‘The thing is, Miranda and I have split up.’

Sasha bit hard on her bottom lip to stop her jaw dropping open.

‘I’m really sorry to hear that, Vaughn.’ Of all the couples she expected to break up, Vaughn and Miranda didn’t even make the longlist. ‘I mean, what… how?’

‘I know I haven’t been across things in the office lately,’ he said, avoiding the question. ‘And for that I apologize.’