How could anyone do this to someone else? Adrian never could get his head around this kind of crime.

‘Just take your time,’ Imogen said.

Caitlin nodded gently before taking another deep breath.

‘After he was done, he made me do other stuff, too.’

‘How long was he there?’ DI Walsh said.

Imogen shot him an angry look, but he ignored her.

‘A couple of hours, I don’t know.’

‘Did you know your attacker? Could you tell us his name?’ DI Walsh said.

For the first time since they had entered the room, Caitlin turned towards the men who were standing at the door. She lifted her hand and pointed at Adrian. What was happening?

‘He did it.’ She burst into tears as she said it.

‘Excuse me?’ Imogen removed her hand from the girl’s immediately as though a bolt of electricity had just shot through her.

‘After Detective Miles drove me home last night, he raped me,’ Caitlin said.

‘What?’ Adrian finally managed to push a word out of his mouth; he wasn’t even sure what word it was. His head was thumping and his ears were ringing. This was up there with his worst nightmares. This couldn’t be real. Being accused of rape was one of those unshakable accusations. Once it had happened, everyone would always wonder. Once the seed was planted, there was nowhere to hide. It would be a rumour that would follow Adrian for the rest of his life. He wanted to throw up. ‘Caitlin!’

‘Could you wait outside the room please, Detective Miles?’ DI Walsh said calmly.

‘This is not true. Caitlin, why are you doing this?’ Adrian said – he knew he shouldn’t say anything, but the impulse was too strong.

‘Just for a moment, I’ll be right out,’ Matt pressed.

Adrian looked at Imogen for guidance. She nodded that it was best for him to leave. He walked out of the room and watched intently through the glass of the door as they spoke to Caitlin. Why would she do this?

It wasn’t long before Imogen and the DI came out of the room. Imogen kept staring at Adrian, willing him to look at her; he could see her out of the corner of his eye. He kept his eyes down though. If he didn’t focus on the floor, he would be sick.

‘We have to investigate this,’ DI Walsh said.

‘I swear I didn’t do this. I couldn’t!’ Adrian said, struggling to breathe.

‘That’s not for me to decide, I’m afraid. There has to be a proper investigation. Do you at least have an alibi for last night?’

‘Not really. I went to the pub, someone might have seen me there. What happens now?’

‘We go and tell Mira. She will have to contact the Professional Standards Division and they will send someone to come and figure out who is telling the truth here.’

‘You think I did this?’ The idea of having PSD looking into his conduct at work made Adrian uncomfortable. He had been investigated for evidence tampering before and even though he was eventually exonerated, the process was degrading. He could just imagine the talk that would be flying around the station. It didn’t even bear thinking about.