His wry smile suggested success. But a subtle response wasn’t going to be enough for Mitch. Undertaking a quick scan of the cluttered desk, he presented an evidence bag.

‘Take a look.’

It was a scrap of paper like the couple Chandler had found floating amongst the ash, but this section seemed to be particularly well preserved, containing what he made out as a list of hand-scribbled words marked ‘named at the Beginning’ at the top.

‘From the crime scene,’ said Mitch, stating the obvious. ‘We’re trying to find out if it’s a list of the people he’s killed.’

‘Are they all listed as missing persons?’

Mitch’s smile dipped momentarily. ‘Some. We’re checking.’

‘How many?’

‘It’s early days.’

‘So it could be a list of anything.’ Chandler was getting used to throwing water on fires.

‘We just haven’t found the connection yet, Sergeant. The potentials are from different parts of the country.’

‘You should have called me in,’ said Chandler.

The response was sharp. ‘Now you know how that feels.’

‘I thought we weren’t being petty.’

‘We aren’t, but you need to spend time with that family of yours.’

‘How is that your business?’ asked Chandler.

Mitch closed his eyes. ‘It just seems like you spend the bulk of your time in here babysitting this lot.’

‘They’re a good bunch.’

Mitch screwed his face up. ‘There may be hope for Luka, but Tanya’s too old, Jim’s too dim, and Nick . . . well he doesn’t stop rabbiting on like he’s got to get everything in his head out.’

‘He’ll make a good officer.’

‘Maybe, if he’d shut up and let his brain do the thinking.’

With that Mitch tucked his mobile into his pocket and turned to his laptop.

‘So what’s happening today?’ asked Chandler.

‘I’m going to put the discovery of the list to our two suspects. See what we can stir up. Someone set that blaze on purpose. We found a bottle of camping gas with a wire leading to a now destroyed battery. Deliberate and premeditated, not particularly smart but certainly effective.’

Chandler watched from the recording booth as Mitch read out the list to each suspect in turn. Names, ages, places of birth of the three they had linked to the missing person’s database. It drew a blank reaction from both. Next, he tried descriptions but again received nothing. With each non-reaction Mitch probed deeper, divulging names of parents and siblings, loved ones, dangling the hook to make them comprehend what they’d done. He crowded their space, leaning in so close that Chandler was wary that they might attack but every time he got up to leave the booth, Mitch would back off, almost as if he were toying with Chandler rather than the suspect.