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‘Something’s come up,’ he replied.

‘About the boys who ran away or about the cruise itself?’

Poe didn’t answer. Sometimes it was best to let witnesses take you where they thought you wanted to go.

Swift’s face hardened as she stared into the distance. ‘Those damn boys!’

Poe waited to see if she would expand.

‘Over my years here, Sergeant Poe, I looked after more than one hundred children, and I’m not blowing my own trumpet when I say I had more than a small impact on their lives. The children appreciated the home I kept for them, they appreciated the boundaries I set and they appreciated the jump-start their lives needed.’

‘Sounds like you were a pillar of the community,’ he said.

‘But those four boys . . . well, some children just don’t want to be helped. I got them a marvellous opportunity with some marvellous people. If they’d done what I’d asked, they’d all have got decent apprenticeships out of it when it was time for them to leave school. Those men had excellent connections and were keen to help in any way they could. All I asked was for them to behave themselves. But did they? No, as soon as they realised they weren’t going to be supervised, they all got drunk. Like common yobbos. They thought nothing of the home and nothing of my reputation.’

‘Seems they were a bit ungrateful,’ Poe said.

‘Doesn’t it? Well, I don’t mind telling you, I tore an almighty strip off them when they came back. Damn near woke the whole house up.’

‘Really?’ Poe had been in enough interviews to know when someone was lying. Swift’s anger sounded forced.

‘Yes, really,’ she said.

‘So they ran off?’

‘They did. Took their stuff – and the money they’d made in tips – and hitched a ride to Carlisle station.’

‘Why Carlisle?’ Poe asked. ‘Penrith’s nearer.’

Swift said she didn’t know. It was just what the police had told her.

He glanced at Reid to see if he had any questions. Other than helping with the tea, he hadn’t asked her anything. Unbelievably he was starting to nod off. How much had he drunk last night?

However, Poe was starting to flag as well. The room was warm and it had been a late night. Still . . . to fall asleep in front of a witness was something new. His phone was on silent but it vibrated in his pocket. He asked Swift for permission to answer but pressed receive before she had a chance to reply. It was Flynn.

‘What’s up?’ he said.

‘Where are you?’

Poe glanced at Swift, who was smiling. His eyelids were starting to feel heavy. If he weren’t careful, he’d be joining Reid soon.

‘I’m at Mrs Swift’s home. DS Reid and I arrived about forty minutes ago, why?’

‘Poe, listen to me carefully. I’m going to tell you something but you can’t react. Do you understand?’

Poe said he did. He noticed his voice was slurred and his tongue seemed to be thicker than usual. He looked across at Reid who was now flat out. He was drooling.

What the hell . . .?

‘Montague Price has just given a full statement. He’s denying he’s the Immolation Man,’ Flynn said.

‘Yes, he is,’ Poe said, his thoughts becoming jumbled.

‘You’re slurring, Poe. Are you drunk?’ Flynn shouted.

Poe didn’t answer. He had been drunk. He didn’t think he was now.

Flynn didn’t wait for him to gather his thoughts. ‘Whatever, I don’t have time for this now. Just pay attention, Price has admitted to being on the boat but it wasn’t weekend breaks being auctioned.’