At Your Door. J. P. Carter

responded with a chuckle.

      ‘Stop winding him up, Max,’ Anna said. ‘This is serious. I’m assuming that when Holly told her mum that she was going to reveal a bunch of sordid secrets this is what she meant. I can see the headlines now – “Top Tory MP and his spanking sessions”.’

      ‘Looks to me as though spanking would have been one of the least painful activities they got up to in here,’ Walker said.

      Anna stepped further into the room to look around. There were no cupboards, drawers or wardrobes, and nothing filled the space under the bed. So everything was on display, and the more Anna looked the more she found.

      There were bottles of massage oil, several pairs of rubber gloves, a roll of plastic cling-film, a bright red latex catsuit, no fewer than five vibrators, a blindfold and a scary-looking mouth ball gag.

      ‘It’s enough to make your eyes water and your skin prickle,’ Walker said.

      One of the shelf units was filled with books, magazines and DVDs. The titles sent a shudder along Anna’s spine. Mistress of Torment, How to be Kinky, Erotic Fantasies, Diary of a Submissive, Bound to Cum, Domination and Submission, Hogtied.

      ‘I’m reminded of the time I went into an Ann Summers store in search of a birthday gift for the wife,’ Walker said.

      ‘And did you buy anything?’ Niven asked him.

      Walker rolled his eyes. ‘You don’t really expect me to answer that question in front of the boss, do you?’

      Anna decided they had seen enough of the playroom and that the contents were becoming a distraction. She was also concerned about contaminating forensic evidence.

      Turning back towards the door, she said, ‘This room is off limits until the SOCOs get here. And it’s time to dispense with the inappropriate repartee, guys. OK?’

      Back in the living room, Anna told Prescott and Niven about Nathan Wolf and said he was no doubt the regular visitor the landlord had mentioned.

      ‘So it means he has to be a suspect in Holly’s murder,’ she added.

      ‘It seems he’s not the only one,’ Prescott said.

      Anna frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

      ‘Well, according to the landlord her ex-boyfriend, a bloke named Ross, came here last week and started a row with her. She accused him of stalking her and was very upset. The landlord also thinks he saw him hanging around outside on Tuesday night.’