‘Someone else is paying for him, if that’s what you mean.’

‘Has he been in trouble before?’ Adrian asked.

‘Never had the police round before, but it’s not really a surprise, not with the way he’s been the last few months.’

‘What’s he been doing?’

‘He nicked a load of booze from the shop on the corner, but luckily the man who runs it decided not to press charges. He knows me, knows us.’

‘Anything else?’

‘Took my mum’s car for a ride when she was visiting one day, and he doesn’t have a licence. He’s stolen money from me, broken things. He beat some kid up in the park, but I managed to convince the mum not to report it.’ She took a long drag before looking up at them. ‘So what has he done now?’

‘We need his assistance with our enquiries on a case,’ Adrian said, ever the diplomat.

‘I am sorry, I have no idea where he is. I don’t even know him any more. He’s always been a good kid, doesn’t make any sense. I’ve tried talking to him, but nothing seems to get through. They always said he was too bright at school, that that would mean he got bored.’

‘What are his grades like at university?’ Adrian asked.

‘Good, as far as I know. He didn’t quite get the right grades to get in, but we had a few problems while he was doing his exams, so they said they would give him a shot.’

‘You said someone else was paying for him,’ Imogen probed.

‘Yeah, my stepdad. Well, my mum’s boyfriend. They’re quite close, have been since Russ was about five.’

‘Have they seen him? Your parents?’ Imogen asked.

‘No, and now they aren’t talking to me any more. Said I’ve ruined him and I need to sort it out. I don’t know what to do.’ Judith Beacham’s eyes glassed over, and she sniffed before wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

‘Do you know if your son was hanging around with anyone new?’ Adrian asked.

‘He stopped telling me anything a couple of months into uni. Only got in touch when he wanted something. He was seeing a girl for a bit, but I don’t know her name. I saw them together in town once and he practically ran away from me.’

‘What did she look like?’

‘Black hair, blue eyes. She was really pretty; I wondered if she was the reason he went off the rails.’

Imogen pulled out her phone and found a photo of Caitlin Watts. She showed it to Judith Beacham. ‘Is this her?’

‘Yes. Definitely.’

So, Caitlin and Russ had a relationship. Had she been the worm that got Russ Beacham on the hook? Imogen wondered what they had threatened Russ Beacham with, how they got him to do the things he did. Had Russ Beacham been involved in Caitlin Watts’ death? Had he killed her? Imogen’s mind flashed to the image of Caitlin’s black hair in deep pink water and she shook it off.