‘I thought it could have been you because you asked me about the phone records but then you never followed it up so I went back to not knowing what had happened. It could have been some kid who’d broken in, though who knows why they’d go through my bins.’

‘Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

Farraday peered up at her, pushing his dripping hair away from his face. ‘Detective Constable Jones . . . Carrie . . . and I were having an affair, Daniel. When I got to the scene that night, I didn’t know what to do. I was distraught but trying to stay professional, then I saw her shoes and bag on the pathway of her house. Her phone was on top and I realised that if anyone started looking into things, it would all be found out. I know it was selfish but I love my wife and I didn’t want to lose my job. So I took it.’

Jessica stared at him. ‘You didn’t kill her?’

The man snorted in surprise, water spraying from his nose and mouth. ‘Is that what you thought?’

‘I . . . I don’t know. There were other things. I’ve not been sleeping.’

They looked straight at each other and Jessica saw the chief inspector’s head tilt to the side in the way she hated. He was about to ask if she was all right. ‘Can we go inside and talk about this? It’s always bloody raining here and we’re both soaked,’ he said.

Jessica turned and started walking back through the maze of the estate where she lived, still not really understanding everything that had happened. It was no wonder Carrie wasn’t willing to talk about her boyfriend if he was not only a married man but their boss too.

She led Farraday into her block and then walked up the stairs to her flat, unlocking the door and pointing the DCI towards her kitchen. ‘I’ll get us some towels,’ she said.

Jessica rarely used her own kitchen, except for warming up frozen meals in the microwave. It was always the coldest room in the flat and the dull light-blue walls made it feel worse. There was a small cheap wood and plastic dining table with two low-backed stools around it. Jessica re-entered the room, handing a towel to Farraday, who started rubbing his head. As she dried her own face, she thought her boss’s hair seemed greyer than it had done a few weeks ago.

‘I think I should start at the beginning,’ he said with a sigh. ‘When I arrived here, I tried to fit in but it was a bit of a shock for all of us. All the jokes were fine but it was tough for me to try to play along and be one of the team while at the same time having to be everyone’s boss. Meanwhile my wife hadn’t enjoyed the move. I don’t really know how it happened but, before I knew what was happening, Carrie and myself had started seeing each other a couple of times a week. Usually it was just hotel rooms but once or twice it would be her house or mine.’

Jessica sat opposite him listening, letting the pieces fall into place in her head and realising how badly she had judged things. ‘She wanted me to leave my wife but . . . Have you ever been in love, Dan . . . Jessica?’

She was slightly taken aback by the question and it must have showed on her face because her boss spoke again. ‘Sorry, that’s a really unfair question.’

Jessica cut in to answer it anyway. ‘I don’t know, Sir.’

‘Please, I think you should call me John for now.’

‘Okay.’

‘Well, if you ever thought being in love could be complicated, then having those feelings for two people is overwhelming, especially when you see one of them every day at work and the other every morning and evening at home. I could feel it beginning to affect my work and tried to put an end to it with Carrie but it’s hard when you see each other all the time. We argued on the afternoon she died. It was at the station, which was unprofessional.’

He picked up the towel again and Jessica wasn’t sure if he was using it to wipe away more of the rain or a few tears. The description of the argument at least explained why Rowlands had seen them having a row.

‘What happened on the night she died?’ Jessica asked.

The chief inspector said nothing for a few moments, composing himself, and then spoke in a broken voice. ‘I got the call from the station that said one of our officers had been badly injured. When they told me the name, I was straight out of the door. I got there and she was being taken away. The paramedics said they had to get her to the hospital to have any hope of her surviving. I was going to follow them and it was then I noticed her things on the path. I saw the phone and took it without thinking. I know it was selfish, thinking about my own preservation, but it wasn’t really a conscious decision.’

He took a deep breath before continuing. ‘Of course, once I had it, I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t want to risk dumping it, just in case it was found, so buried it in my own bin thinking it would be emptied and end up in a landfill where no one would find it. Then I came home that night and saw someone had gone through our rubbish and had no idea what to think. I didn’t know if someone was on to me, or trying to frame me or what. So I waited but no one ever mentioned it. I saw someone running off my driveway that night but had no idea who it was because it was so dark. They were hobbling but I looked around the station the next day just in case and everyone was walking normally. I didn’t know if it was someone I knew, or just a person looking to rob us.’

Jessica gave a small laugh. ‘I think we were trying to be too clever for our own good. My ankle was killing me, it still is. But I’ve kept it strapped tight.’ She bent down and took her shoe and sock off before lifting her foot up for her boss to see. The ankle was purple and yellow with bruising and the swelling had reappeared.

‘You thought I killed her?’ he said softly.

‘I thought you killed them all. I didn’t know what to think when I found that phone.’

‘But . . . how would I have even done that? With McKenna and all?’

‘I . . . don’t know. After we found his sister, I’d got it into my head you were his twin and one of you had changed your appearance or something. I’ve not been thinking straight.’

‘Twin? I look nothing like him.’

‘I know . . . but I’d convinced myself. I even had you tested . . .’

Farraday reached up to his cheek where the small cut was still visible. ‘Oh . . .’

‘I know. Stupid, wasn’t it?’

Jessica stood and told him she’d be back in a moment. She returned shortly afterwards and put Carrie’s phone down on the table in front of them. The man shook his head as he gazed at it. ‘Why did you come to look for it in the first place? You couldn’t have known it was there.’

‘I didn’t. It was instinct and a bit of an accident. It was just all the things that had gone wrong, I thought they were your fault.’ The chief inspector slumped slightly as Jessica continued. ‘Sorry, but it was your decision to get all that stuff into the papers about Lee Morgan being corrupt and then you were so sure Robert Graves was one of the killer’s victims. We put the wrong mug shot into the press and I don’t think we recovered from that.’

The man closed his eyes and shook his head. ‘You’re right but that’s why I told Carrie we had to call things off. The relationship was affecting my judgement.’

‘Then you kept talking about being grateful for these people being killed.’

‘Do I wish they were still around? Well, I’m not going to say I’m sorry they’re gone.’

‘They were still people though.’

The man nodded. ‘Maybe I was a little unprofessional in expressing my personal views.’

‘There’s more though. You had been in my office the day after Carrie was killed. Things had been moved around.’

‘That’s true. I knew Carrie was good friends with you. She said she hadn’t told anyone about our relationship but I figured if she’d told anyone, it would have been you. It was an odd morning and I was a wreck because she’d just died but I couldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t know if you were in your office but it’s so bloody messy in there I ended up sending all sorts of files flying. I thought I’d put them back but then sent another load tumbling.’