“I do remember one argument we had around that time,” Yvonne went on. “He said it was all very well for me to go on about miniskirts and mascara and listen to the Rolling Stones, but if I had to deal with some of the things he did, I’d never want to go outside again.”

“Did he say what?”

“No. I can’t remember, but I just assumed he meant his job. You know, junkies, dead bodies and stuff. He was always going on about what a dangerous world it was out there. I mean, the thing with Linda Lofthouse was later, so it wasn’t anything to do with that. But he seemed frustrated. More than usual. He even fought with Mum once or twice, which was rare. He almost never lost his temper with her.”

“Do you remember the circumstances of this particular argument?”

“No. It was years ago. I was doing my homework, but they were quite loud and I couldn’t help overhearing. I suppose the fact that they were having a row made me want to listen. Mum said something about it being a good thing because it meant he wouldn’t have to go and mix with all those queers, and I just remember that he got angry and said that he was hamstrung and couldn’t do anything. He said something about his effing boss, too. Funny, I only remember that because he swore, which he rarely did at home, and I had no idea what ‘hamstrung’ meant. It was the first time I ever heard the word. I had to look it up in the dictionary.”

“Do you remember when that was?”

“No. I mean, not specifically. Around the time you’re talking about. It was probably September or October, as I was back at school, but I don’t know for sure.”

“Before the ball?”

“Around then.”

It sounded to Banks as if Chadwick had been complaining to his wife about not being allowed to investigate something to do with gays, perhaps because his boss had intervened, and if the timing was right, it could well have been the Tony Monaghan case. But which boss? There had been many officers above Chadwick at the time. Edward Crammond? It would be useful to find out who Chadwick’s other senior officers were and see if any came up in the names of “friends and acquaintances” Winsome had gathered so far from Caxton’s past. “Did your father ever say anything about homosexuals?”

“What do you mean?”

“That summer, the Sexual Offences Act had just made homosexuality legal for adults over twenty-one in the privacy of their own homes. It was a transitional time. It caused a few problems for the police.”

“What? You mean you could no longer beat the shit out of people for being gay?”

“Something like that.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean you specifically, but you’ve got to admit your lot didn’t exactly have a spotless record when it came to respecting minority rights—whether sexual orientation or race.”