Andrew was clearly trying to keep his face neutral as he replied but his bobbing Adam’s apple gave him away. ‘Yeah . . .’

A thought occurred to Jessica. ‘Is that the first . . . ?’

She didn’t finish the sentence as the look on Andrew’s face gave her the answer that Sienna’s was the first dead body he had ever seen. She had already checked out his story to see if he could be a suspect but everything he said was confirmed. His horror was so real that any suspicions there could have been around him seemed ridiculous. She had not looked behind the sheeted-off area herself – but had seen the photos that morning. Even in less than perfect light, the amount of blood was astonishing.

Andrew clearly didn’t want to dwell on it, so Jessica moved on. ‘Are you still working for the girl’s father?’

He paused for a moment, apparently thinking his answer through before responding. ‘Is that important?’

‘There’s a conflict of interest if you’re our only witness but you’re also being paid by Sienna’s father. As long as you cooperate, there’s not much we can do – but it would be nice to know.’

The man nodded. ‘I spoke to him last night after your people had been around. He was devastated, not the man I met a few days ago. He doesn’t think it was suicide.’

Jessica wondered if Andrew was offering his own opinion on the death but she didn’t question it. ‘Is he paying you to find out if someone killed her?’

Andrew didn’t reply but nodded gently.

‘Great, so we’re investigating a suicide while you’re blundering around getting in the way.’

The man was instantly defensive. ‘It’s not like that. I’ll share anything I find.’

‘What makes you think you’ll find something I won’t?’ Jessica was being deliberately inflammatory.

‘I don’t, I . . .’

Jessica spoke over him. ‘There are certain things I’m going to share with you because you’re a witness and it might jog your memory about the things you saw last night. I want to be clear that I am not passing these on in any sort of professional capacity and that I’m trusting you not to hand this information over to Sienna’s father. Is that understood?’

Andrew was looking flustered, nodding but confused.

‘Good,’ Jessica continued. ‘Although we’re pretty sure it was a suicide, what we don’t know is if it was deliberate or accidental. We found cut marks high on Sienna’s inside thigh where they wouldn’t be seen unless she wanted to show someone. We’re pretty sure they are self-harm cuts. Most self-harmers would do that to their arms, not their legs, but not everyone.’

Andrew was wide-eyed and Jessica thought he was likely remembering the previous night, which was what she wanted him to do. She did have a few pangs of regret given the shocked look on his face.

‘Are you sure you’re all right to hear this?’ Jessica added.

‘I just . . . I’ve never heard about the thigh thing before.’

Jessica didn’t like to think too much about it herself. She untied her hair and then knotted it tighter into a ponytail as she replied. ‘Apparently it’s fairly common. What we don’t know is whether she cut her wrists trying to self-harm in a similar way – but accidentally hit the artery – or if she knew what she was doing.’

She watched Andrew lean back into the chair, apparently able to ignore the collapsing backrest. ‘I’m not sure I can help you. Once I saw the blood I just . . . I can’t even remember it. I called you and that’s about all I know.’

Jessica nodded, thinking the visit to see the private investigator hadn’t been one of her best ideas. He seemed a little wet.

‘We have recovered the CCTV footage of the complex,’ she said. ‘Although there isn’t one specifically watching the area where Sienna was found, we’re pretty sure no one else was present. We have also rounded up a couple of her friends who were with her earlier in the evening. We haven’t managed to identify or speak to everyone she was with but the two we have statements from say they didn’t know why she might have a reason to kill herself. I’m going back to see them all at some point but, for now, all we have to go on are the surveillance images you told us about.’

Andrew leant forward. ‘I’m going to need my computer back if that’s all right . . . ?’

Jessica stood up from the desk. ‘Go on then. I guess it is your desk.’

He lifted himself up from the seat and Jessica saw him wince slightly as he reached towards his lower back. She thought it would serve him right for trying to stitch her up by making her sit in that chair but she didn’t say anything.

‘What time is it?’ Andrew asked, looking at his watch. Jessica didn’t reply as the only time-keeping device she had was her phone, which was in her jacket pocket. She wondered if he was asking as a hint because he wanted to get away. Seemingly realising what he had done, Andrew met Jessica’s curious eyes. ‘Sorry, I do that.’

Jessica shrugged, ready to swap seats but, instead, Andrew turned around and walked to the window where he twisted a plastic pole hanging from the top to close the blinds. It had been gradually getting darker and she realised why the man had queried the time. Jessica took her phone out of her pocket and saw that it was half past six. The day really had flown by.

‘Sorry for keeping you,’ Jessica said.

Andrew waved his hand in acknowledgement before sitting down. She stood behind his chair, watching as he dug into the bottom drawer to take out a camera. He placed it on the desk and then hunted through the next drawer up, pulling out a lead which he connected from the camera to the computer.

‘Sorry, it’s a bit slow,’ he said apologetically.

Jessica wandered to the other side of the desk and started pacing the room. She was feeling restless, so started poking at the plant in the corner. It was almost as tall as she was, its green leaves waxy and bright.

‘Do you know what it is?’ Andrew asked. Jessica looked up to see him pointing at the foliage.

She shook her head. ‘Some sort of plant, I think.’

She knew it sounded pathetic but she was unable to stop herself laughing. As Andrew joined in, Jessica began to feel a bond of sorts with him. Outwardly, he was plain but there was something about his personality that was delightfully charming. He reminded her of Adam in the way there was something incredibly likeable that was hard to specifically identify.

They were the exact opposite of Sebastian.

‘What’s it like being a shit version of a detective?’ Jessica asked in a way that let Andrew know she was joking. Well, half-joking.

Andrew stopped laughing but he still had a smile on his face as he tapped on the computer’s keyboard. ‘I dunno. What’s it like being a shit detective?’

‘Ha!’ Jessica liked the boldness of his response. ‘Touché. You don’t know my colleagues, do you?’

Andrew chuckled as a reply. ‘It’s all right. I never wanted to be a police officer or anything like that.’

‘What did you want to be?’

The man continued typing on the keyboard while he spoke. ‘My mum reckons I wanted to be a dustman when I was four.’

‘Nice. Are you still aiming that high?’

Andrew laughed again. ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this. I have a degree in criminology so I know a bit about it. The truth is, I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.’

He laughed at his own joke but Jessica could see the truth in the statement. So many people fell into jobs and careers without knowing if they actually enjoyed them.

‘What kind of things do you usually do?’

Jessica remembered how squeamish he seemed at the blood. She didn’t blame him but figured he rarely dealt with anything that had any real intensity to it.

The man looked up from the computer. ‘It’s mainly affairs and stuff like that. Husbands cheating on wives, wives cheating on husbands.’

‘What do you do? Follow them?’ Jessica was genuinely interested, wondering if it was rewarding.