Which either means that she knew him, or she was somehow tricked into letting him in.’ ‘Do you know what time it happened?’ DI Delaney looks through the papers in the file. ‘The pathologist estimates the time of death at between 3.30 and 4.45. Stacy’s watch, which was broken during the attack, was stopped at 4.17.’ He looks at me. ‘You were still at work, John. You couldn’t have done anything.’ It’s a pointless thing to say, but I don’t hold it against him. I ask, ‘Have you got any witnesses?’ He shakes his head. ‘Not yet.’ ‘No one saw anything?’ ‘We’ve still got some follow-up interviews to do, and we’ve got appeals planned for the press and local TV. We’re doing everything we possibly can, John.’ ‘What about forensics?’ ‘The crime-scene evidence is still being analysed. No fingerprints have been found, so we’re assuming he wore gloves … and preliminary reports indicate the use of a condom during the rape, so we don’t expect to find any –’ ‘A condom?’ Delaney sighs.
