Banks took a sip of beer and considered what she had said. “No,” he replied. “I don’t suppose it would. Though it could make things difficult for the Crown Prosecution Service down the line. But they’re pests, the media. Once they latched on, they would never leave you alone. They’re like mosquitoes. Not only are they annoying, but they need your blood to breed. You could say good-bye to your peace and tranquillity for a while.” Adrian Moss would probably love a high-profile victim as well as a high-profile suspect, but that wasn’t Banks’s concern. Moss’s job was to get the most out of the media for the police while getting the least out of the police for the media. He had already thrown the TV a bone in the shape of the search of Caxton’s home, but even he would draw the line at throwing Linda Palmer to the wolves. Maybe. “And you can be sure they wouldn’t go easy on you,” Banks went on. “They wouldn’t be sympathetic and understanding. They’d dig up every boyfriend you’ve ever had and ask you some tough questions, maybe even insinuate that you led Caxton on, or you’re making it all up in the hopes of selling more books.”

“It’s very sweet of you to think about me. But I know what the media are like. Don’t forget, I came to you. And I came into this with my eyes wide open, fully aware that it might bring about some infringements of my privacy and put me in an awkward position.” She smiled. “Not to mention disturb my peace of mind. I’ve been jotting things down, as you suggested. It’s remarkable the things I remember. Or think I remember. I’ve not been sleeping very well.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’ve no wish to get fixated on an incident from my past, however traumatic, but the more I immerse myself in that two-week holiday and its aftermath, the more details nag away at me.”

“As a detective, it’s those details I’m interested in,” said Banks.

Linda took a sip of her wine, then asked, “Have you spoken with Caxton yet? I saw the police raid on the news.”

“Yes, quite dramatic, wasn’t it? I spoke with him just before it.”

“And?”

“Naturally, he denies everything.”

“Denies that anything happened?”

“Denies that he ever forced anyone to have sex. Denies that he would ever have needed to force anyone to have sex.”

“Arrogant prick. Does he even deny that he was in Blackpool that week, that I asked for his autograph, that he invited me to his hotel?”