‘What do you mean if?’ Adrian snapped.

‘Don’t be like that, you know what I meant.’

Adrian relaxed. ‘Thanks for having my back on this. Not everyone would.’

‘I hope if the situation were reversed you would do the same for me.’

‘You know I would. Good idea about Gary, I’ll see if he can work some of his magic. Is anyone speaking to Caitlin Watts?’

‘I think DI Walsh is back over there taking a statement. I’ll speak to you later.’

Imogen left Adrian outside. She noticed how uncomfortable she felt around him, and she couldn’t help but wonder why. Was it just that they had finally spoken about their strange sleepovers out loud? Or was it something else?

Not wanting to think about that right now, Imogen wanted to hear what Denise had to say, so she went into the adjacent room and watched the live feed.

‘How often would you say you and DS Miles had sex?’ Sneddon asked Denise.

‘Do you have to be so crude? Every few weeks.’

‘But there was no relationship?’

‘I don’t know how to answer that question. We were both single, consenting adults. Yes, we hooked up for sex. Is that wrong?’

‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you if the sex was particularly rough?’

‘It was as rough as we both wanted it to be,’ Denise huffed.

‘That’s not an answer. I’m going to need more than that,’ DCC Sneddon said.

Imogen felt wrong listening in, but she couldn’t tear herself away. Denise was obviously holding something back.

‘It was a bit rough. But only because I wanted that. Adrian wasn’t like that at first.’

‘So, you’re saying his aggressive sexual behaviour escalated?’

‘No! I’m saying I asked him to be rougher and he was. I told him what I wanted, that’s all. He didn’t do anything outside of that. He never did anything I was uncomfortable with.’

‘Did he ever hit you during sex? Did you ask him to?’

‘No. I feel like my words are getting twisted up here. Adrian’s a good guy.’

‘What about choking? Did he ever strangle you? Either with his hands or anything else?’

‘I don’t want to answer that question.’

‘I think we’re probably past that now. You have to answer the question.’

Denise took a deep breath and Imogen found herself closing her eyes, waiting for her to say what everyone now knew she was about to say.

‘I asked him to choke me, and so he did, yes.’

‘More than once?’

‘Yes, more than once.’

‘And did you ask him every time? Or did he sometimes just do it?’

Denise exhaled loudly, exasperated. ‘I didn’t ask him every time, no.’

‘Did he ever choke you until you passed out?’

‘No, never. It wasn’t like that.’

Imogen was growing more and more concerned for Adrian; Denise wasn’t doing the greatest job in the interview. Rather than alleviating any concerns they might have about Adrian, she was sure that Denise had just opened a whole other can of worms.