‘We didn’t expect it to record a murder!’ Justin’s face falls. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I should have checked it Wednesday morning. But with Finn locked in the van, and the shock of Simon being dead. I just…’ He puts his head in his hands. ‘Oh, fuck.’

Sophie wants to cry. There was video, something that could have cleared Finn’s name, but it’s gone.

‘Can’t someone who knows something about computers recover it?’

‘They’re trying,’ Justin says quietly. ‘But they said it’s not looking good. Apparently, this person knew what they were doing.’

They both sink into silence. After a moment, Justin seems to regain his appetite and starts buttering a slice of toast. Sophie envies his hunger. All she can feel is a constant gnawing anxiety; the idea of eating makes her feel sick.

Justin takes a bite of his breakfast, and Sophie feels him watching her.

‘What?’

‘And you’re sure…’ he starts.

‘Sure, what?’ Sophie challenges.

Justin swallows. ‘You’re sure he didn’t do it?’

‘What? Kill Simon?’ Sophie can’t believe he’s asking her this. ‘Of course not.’

‘It’s…’

‘What, Justin? Please share what’s on your mind,’ she snaps.

He puts his knife down, then leans back in his chair, holding his coffee cup. ‘Simon was my best friend. I spent months with him, I knew everything about him. And some of the stories he told me about Finn? Well, they weren’t flattering.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like the story about Simon’s penknife. It was a gift from one of his professors, his PhD supervisor, some in-joke between them. You know – that Simon was the only meteorologist you’ll ever meet that would know what to do with a penknife?’

‘So what?’ Sophie’s barely tolerating this conversation. It’s clear whose side Justin White is on, and it briefly crosses her mind that he might have deleted that footage himself.

‘So, Finn was jealous. They’d both worked with that professor, and he had never given Finn anything. The rivalry between Simon and Finn was intense. To the point that I questioned why Simon wanted to work with him.’

‘Well, we know why. Because Simon wanted to steal his research.’

‘I don’t know about that—’

‘It’s obvious. Simon’s name is on the draft paper. You sent it to Finn – the detectives told me. Why would you do that, if it wasn’t to show Finn what Simon was doing?’

‘I…’ He looks down miserably at the remains of his toast. ‘I found it by accident. And I felt bad for Finn. Simon was an incredible guy, but I knew he was ruthless, and he’d stomp all over Finn, given half the chance. I thought he’d just have a conversation with Sharp. Clear it up, make sure both their names went on the paper.’

‘Well done you,’ Sophie says, sarcastically. ‘Look what happened next.’