Campbell resumed his pacing as he spoke. ‘This Mr Evans, we only have his word that Davies handed him the picture for starters. Only have his word that he ever met with Locke under those circumstances, let alone as confirmation of what was said between them. As for this …’ Campbell held up the evidence bag with the picture in it. ‘Without any corroborating evidence as to how he came by it, they’ll strongly suggest that we investigate how he managed to get his hands on a crime scene photograph.’

‘That’s the thing though, sir, it’s not a crime scene photograph. Well, I know it’s a picture of the deceased, but …’ Porter sighed loudly. ‘But it’s not one he could have just come across, or even taken from us.’

‘And how can you be so sure, Detective?’

‘Evans says he was out of the country on holiday when Barclay died and it checks out. He’s willing to make a statement confirming how he came to possess the picture.’

Evans had confirmed he would come in if they needed him to. With his wife gone, he had readily agreed at what he saw as a chance to turn back the clock and stand up to Locke.

‘It’s still one man’s word against another, Porter, and I’ll remind you again, it would be the word of a man who hands out money to good causes and shakes hands with our top brass, so I’ll ask you again, how can you be so sure?’

‘Because there’s something wrong with that picture, sir. It’s not one of ours. Whoever took that picture was there at the scene, but it wasn’t us.’

Campbell sneered as he studied the picture again. ‘You showed me the original yourself when you made your pitch to run both cases, Detective. It looks like the same picture to me, right down to the jacket and the note.’ He tossed the bag onto his desk and it skittered across the surface until it hit his keyboard.

The arrogance of the man was unbelievable. He was so sure of himself that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. Porter hoped his polite smile didn’t look as fake as it felt. He reached across and drew the photograph towards him, picking it up and turning it to face Campbell.

‘If it’s one of ours, sir, then why are there no evidence markers at the scene? This one was taken before we even turned up.’

Campbell’s face reddened as he snatched the picture back from Porter and sat down. Even though there was no audience to witness the glaring error, Porter had a feeling he would pay for embarrassing his superior like that somewhere down the line, but right now he didn’t give a damn.