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Reid could tell that Seaton was both hurt and angry, but he wasn’t sure whether it was aimed at him.

He knew he could have explained about Esther and Philip earlier to soften the blow, but he’d been afraid of what might happen if he’d started throwing accusations around without any proof.

At the worst end of the spectrum, Seaton might have warned Philip.

And if Anna was still alive, then the last thing he should do was to make Philip feel under threat.

Reid also hadn’t been completely sure about Philip.

There had still been a chance Esther had been having an affair with Kit’s father, Roland.

There was even a tiny chance of her boyfriend being Marcus Jaffett, who was apparently a known womaniser.

Though he’d pretty much counted that out, given Ryan had been the one blackmailing everyone.

A very small part of him had even wondered, fleetingly, if the older man might be Seaton himself But every instinct he had about him had fought with that, and his instincts had been right.

So Seaton had ended up hearing the stark truth from Esther herself. Which had been undeniable proof, if not exactly kind.

But Reid didn’t really have time to worry about the man’s feelings, any more than he had time to worry for Esther Thomas. All Reid needed to know for sure was that neither of them would warn Philip about any of this.

And at that thought, he realised that somehow he’d ended up acting like Anna: putting a single objective above all the collateral damage. And strangely, the idea didn’t trouble him at all.

He should probably still try with Seaton, though. As the lift doors closed on them, he said, ‘I’m… sorry if this is all quite difficult.’

Seaton turned his head sharply away. ‘Whatever there was between Philip and Esther… that doesn’t mean he killed anyone. And it doesn’t mean James did, either.’

Reid took a moment to gather himself as he stepped out of the lift at the ground floor.

‘If you were James,’ he said in a quiet, non-confrontational tone, ‘and your mother found your girlfriend’s necklace in her bed… what would your first thought be? If you knew that you’d never been in there with her?’

Seaton was silent for a moment and then said, ‘I wouldn’t assume anything. I’d ask her what it was doing there. And if he did, Holly would have just told him.’

‘But we know from Cordelia and Kit that she didn’t tell anyone,’ Reid countered, still gently.

‘Holly understood what it would have meant to tell. She understood the ramifications and the hurt it would cause. And maybe also what it would mean to the lifestyle she was getting to live.’ He glanced at Seaton.

‘She went to get advice from Kit about it before she said anything. Which means even if James did ask her, she hid the truth from him, and unintentionally let him think the very worst of her.’

Reid watched him. He could tell that Seaton was thinking all this through. And he was an intelligent man. He would inevitably think about James’s attempts to stop Anna investigating. The apparent poisoning in his room, which must have been staged to make James seem innocent.

He can’t have done any of it alone , Reid thought.

Which meant that Philip had to have known. He’d been trying to protect his son, perhaps in part out of overwhelming guilt for what he’d caused. And he was still trying to protect him now.

Seaton said nothing in reply. He walked ahead of Reid through the security barrier and out onto Midland Road. And then, without turning or waiting, he walked away.

Reid watched him go with a momentary feeling of sadness. It would have been good to have Seaton’s help for the next stage. But it didn’t really change anything. He knew where he needed to go.