‘Oh, I’m not jaded. My comment was only in reference to her, no one else.’

‘OK, good. You’re not upset, are you?’

Adrian walked over to her and kissed her on the lips; it was unexpected as she had been worried about broaching this subject with him. One false accusation tended to throw everyone’s sensitivities out of whack. There would be some deep suspicion of everyone who reported a sexual assault once this was proven to be false, especially if it got into the newspapers. Sometimes it wasn’t even a conscious thought, or a thought people wanted to have. It just crept in there. It was one of the reasons most police officers liked to downplay false accusations.

‘I want you to always say what you’re thinking. I hate mind games and I know you don’t play them. I don’t want us to have secrets. After everything that has happened I would rather have the truth and deal with the fallout of that.’

‘You’re a good egg, Adrian.’ She kissed him back, mostly tasting the butter on her lips as he pressed against her, but unfortunately she didn’t have time for this right now. She pushed him away. ‘I have to get dressed. I have to be in in twenty minutes.’

‘That’s plenty of time.’ He pulled at the hem of her T-shirt, guiding her out of the room. ‘I’ll help.’

Imogen didn’t enjoy driving with someone who wasn’t Adrian next to her. DI Matt Walsh was a nice guy; there didn’t seem to be any ulterior intentions going on. He wasn’t exactly open, but it didn’t feel like he was hiding anything bad. He was quiet, reserved, but it just wasn’t the same as having Adrian beside her. They made their way to the Reverend Nigel Watts’ house to speak to Caitlin. The grandfather had granted them permission after they had assured him that no charges would be brought against her for the false allegation against DS Miles.

‘Sorry I was late,’ Imogen said.

‘No need to apologise. Are you going to be OK with this interview?’ Matt asked.

‘Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘Must have been hard to watch your colleague going through that.’

‘It was, but I’m more interested in finding out who helped her stage the attack. It could be the same person who assaulted Adrian and made it look like a mugging.’

‘Yes, just try not to let your emotional attachment to DS Miles affect the way you conduct this interview. It would be nice to get ahead of this. Figure out who is involved before they show up dead.’

‘I think that’s what we all want at this point,’ she said, angry at the implication that she would be anything other than professional.

She parked the car and opened the door, getting out before Matt had a chance to ask any more questions.

The faintest sound of sirens was somewhere in the distance, more than one vehicle, seemingly getting closer. Imogen walked up the path and knocked on the door.