Sitting in the Corrigans’ living room, Imogen couldn’t help but wonder what kind of things went down in this house. Every surface was spotless, every cushion plumped and placed strategically. She avoided sitting on the sofa, knowing what had just taken place there.

Imogen had seen Angela’s injuries and she wasn’t healed when she left the hospital, so her husband must have seen them, too. Added to that was the fact that she most likely wasn’t wearing make-up under those clothes. There was no getting away from that fact – whether he was involved or not, Reece knew something awful had happened to his wife.

Since Reece Corrigan had left, Angela had got herself a glass and a crystal decanter with some honey brown liquid in it. She poured herself a generous measure.

‘You shouldn’t be here,’ Angela said.

‘Neither should you,’ Imogen said. ‘Why did you leave the hospital?’

‘If you’re here when he gets back then we’ll all be in trouble.’

‘What kind of trouble?’ Adrian said.

‘You don’t want to know,’ Angela responded.

‘We’re police officers,’ Imogen said. ‘He can’t do anything to us.’

Angela scoffed and saluted Imogen with her glass. ‘If you say so.’

‘Were you lying the whole time when you said you didn’t know what happened?’ Imogen said.

‘I don’t remember that night. I did know my name and who I was, though.’

She drank the contents and poured herself another.

‘The bruises you had in hospital don’t just appear, someone did that to you.’

‘I don’t want to talk about it. Please go.’

‘We can help you. There are shelters for women in your situation,’ Adrian said. ‘Why don’t you let us help you?’

‘I doubt there are many women in my situation. You have no idea what he is capable of. He doesn’t care that you’re police. If he wants to hurt you, he will. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get out while you still can.’

‘Like you said, we’re the police. Getting out while we can isn’t really the way we operate. We can protect you,’ Adrian said.

Imogen could feel how much he wanted to save this woman. It wasn’t about her, though – it was almost a selfishness on his part. If she got hurt again then Adrian would feel bad. Maybe that’s what things like this were always about, maybe that’s what their entire job was – just making sure the police themselves didn’t feel crap.

Angela smiled and took another swig of the liquid in her tumbler.

‘You think that, but you can’t. He always wins. Always.’

‘Can you tell us about Simon Glover?’ Imogen said.

‘Simon?’ She took another swig. Still emotionless, still cold.

‘Were you having an affair with him?’ Imogen said.