And then, once he’d returned from camp, it goes back to Finn’s. At first, the measurements are written in, but only that. No other comments. And then, there’s a gap. Days pass: nothing.

He shows it to Freya. ‘What do you make of that?’

‘You said he had glandular fever,’ she replies. ‘Perhaps too ill to check the weather?’

Robin shakes his head. ‘No, Finn would have never let it drop. He had flu once, a really bad fever, and he made me go out in the pouring rain to take his notes. He would have made Josie do it.’ Robin stares at the empty pages. ‘It’s like he didn’t care.’

Freya slowly looks up from the school report. ‘Maybe he was depressed,’ she says, her voice low and careful. ‘It would fit. He sees the death of a friend – that would be enough to spin anyone out.’ She points to the school report. ‘He had a referral to mental health services. And from what Sophie’s said to you, it’s something he struggles with now.’

Robin frowns. ‘But Josie said Finn didn’t know Jacob,’ he replies. ‘And, more to the point, why would Josie hide this?’ He sighs, closing the notebook with frustration and replacing it in the pile. ‘I need a drink,’ he says, with finality.

They return the house to its previous state, replacing everything perfectly. Robin hesitates over taking the notebook, but concedes that it tells them nothing, and he leaves it with the others.

They walk down the road to the Sloop Inn. Robin has always preferred the Lord Nelson but there’s a strong chance he’ll be recognised by a local, even after all these years, and he’s not in the mood to chat.

The Sloop is a generic chain, bland but functional, and they carry their drinks to the far side. Freya’s taken advantage of Robin’s hangover and has a large glass of white in front of her. Robin has a lager shandy. He sips it grimly.

‘What are you going to do?’ Freya asks.

‘Christ knows. Probably nothing.’ Robin picks up his phone and puts it down again. He wants to call Josie, demand to know what happened, but he needs to approach the topic gently. What he and Freya have been doing is essentially illegal, although Robin’s pretty sure that Josie wouldn’t press charges. ‘What difference does it make?’ he asks her. ‘Even if Finn was affected by this boy’s death, what’s it got to do with Simon Sharp? The only assumption Craig will make is that he had some sort of mental-health incident, linked to something that happened when he was a kid. It only strengthens her case.’

‘The coroner ruled Jacob’s death as accidental. It wasn’t anyone’s fault,’ Freya says gently.