‘Because you wanted to protect her,’ Ed said. ‘You shouldn’t blame yourself for that.’

Dee had forgotten how kind he could be. Or how good it felt to sit beside him on a sofa, like now, knowing he was here and he’d do whatever it took to keep all the people in this room safe.

‘My colleagues in London will want to interview you again too,’ he told Dee. ‘The post-mortem results confirm Michael was killed. Which means, for now, you’re the last known person to have seen him alive.’

‘What about Robert?’ Dee said.

‘There’s a window of about an hour between Emer speaking to Michael at the flat and you finding his dead body,’ Ed said. ‘Of course we’ll be questioning him about the murder. Before we do, it would be helpful to understand how he knew where Michael lived. Emer, can you shed any light on that?’

‘Maeve,’ Emer said. ‘I sent her the address that morning, remember Dee? So she could meet us there.’

‘But you didn’t tell her what flat Michael lived in,’ Dee said. ‘You only gave her the building number and street name. It’s a huge block of flats. There’s no way Robert could have knocked on every door until he found Michael. I was back at his flat no more than an hour after you left him.’

‘When I was going up to the flat,’ Emer said, ‘I thought someone was following me. But each time I stopped and looked around, there was no one there. Is it possible Robert had come to the flats and followed me up the stairs?’

‘We can look into that later,’ Ed said. ‘If Robert killed Michael, we’ll find a way to prove it. For now, let’s concentrate on finding Kitty.’

Rachel cleared her throat, a signal Dee recognised. She was about to say something others would find uncomfortable.

‘Fiona and Emer, I know this is difficult, but I think you need to accept the possibility that Kitty’s sudden disappearance is her own choice.’

‘What do you mean?’ Emer said.

‘Isn’t it possible all of this simply became too much? Maybe she just wanted to get away. Make a fresh start somewhere else.’

‘No,’ Fiona said. ‘That’s not what’s happened. She wanted a chance to go back and do the right thing – to tell the truth, regardless of the consequences.’

‘It wouldn’t do any harm to put a call out,’ Ed said. ‘Have you got a recent photo you can give us?’

‘Only on my phone,’ Fiona said.

‘That’s fine,’ Ed said. ‘I’ll give you my phone number and you can send it to me.’

‘What about the other girl?’ Dee said. The fog in her mind was lifting. Replaced with a moment of startling clarity. ‘You said she never checked into the hotel, but her car was still parked outside?’

‘And Kitty’s car,’ Emer said.