Bremer considered her for a moment. ‘But if she is writing the letters, why don’t you want her caught?’

Eve tipped her head back, clearly frustrated. ‘Caught for what, exactly? Using a pen? It’s not a crime I’m familiar with.’

‘Do you know the identity of the person writing the letters?’

Eve folded her arms. ‘No.’

‘And why didn’t you report them to the police?’

Eve studied him before speaking. ‘They contained personal information I didn’t want thrown into the gossip mill. If you must know.’

Carla braced herself for Bremer to mention the miscarriages, but instead he said, ‘OK. So back to Connor. Could you tell me where you were the night he was killed?’

Eve looked taken aback. She’d clearly also been expecting a different question. ‘In the lab.’

‘People there with you?’

‘No. But the signing-in book will show I was there.’

Carla knew all that showed was someone had signed in and out, not that it was Eve. Bremer would want more than that.

‘CCTV at the lab?’

‘Are you doubting my word, Detective Inspector?’

‘Detective Chief Inspector.’

‘I stand corrected. And yes, there is CCTV.’

‘Good.’

Eve studied Bremer for a couple of seconds before speaking again. ‘Why do you think I would kill Connor, Detective Chief Inspector? Why would I waste my time on scum like him?’

The words felt aggressive in the confined space. Carla glanced at Bremer, but he seemed unfazed.

‘Scum,’ he said. ‘You surmised that from the brief time you saw him?’

‘You’re telling me you don’t know a criminal when you see one?’

‘Maybe. But I’m a policeman and you’re not. Why did you think he was scum?’

Eve leaned towards the table. ‘Because he murdered his child, Detective Chief Inspector. If someone like that isn’t scum, I don’t know who is.’ She held his stare for three seconds before leaning back and folding her arms. The tension was almost unbearable. Carla glanced nervously to Bremer, who was looking unwaveringly at Eve.

‘I was under the impression you told Sergeant Jackson you believed the mother had killed the child?’

‘Yes. And I still maintain that.’

‘But you just said Connor did.’

When Eve next spoke, it was as if to a small child.

‘It was self-evident. The man had clearly groomed the poor girl to be with him. I mean, she was, what, seventeen?’

When Bremer didn’t reply she continued.

‘The man clearly targets vulnerable young women. He’ll have form for it, no doubt, and he’ll probably have a history of domestic violence.’

Carla flinched. Eve nodded to her, acknowledging she was right.