She knew he had been in the UK for twenty years, and that he had spent time in prison for assault. He had worked for Mandy Pilkington for the past six years and they had ascertained that his brother-in-law, Ameer Fareedi, held a responsible job with a chain of butcher’s. They also knew Ameer’s wife, Farah Fareedi, had a university education, but they had found little information about Aiyla Farook. She had come to the UK after marrying Farook, bringing his five-year-old daughter. They had not found a birth certificate, and the name on the immigration records, Rania Yasmin Farook, could mean that the girl from the modeling agency was actually someone else, even though her aunt and her mother had agreed the girl in the photograph was Yasmin. Jane recalled Spencer telling her how Farook reacted when they had shown him the photograph and he was certain that is what had sparked his murderous rage.

Jane was topping up her whisky when the phone rang. She was in two minds about answering it. When she did, she almost wished she hadn’t, as her sister Pam launched into a lengthy diatribe about a woman in her hair salon who had asked for a perm and then complained about it being too curly, so they had re-set her hair in large rollers and she then said that she should have had it cut—

Jane interrupted. ‘Pam, I’ve had a really long day—’ But before she could say any more, Pam exploded.

‘You’ve had a long day! That wasn’t the only client who made me want to throttle them!’

Jane sighed. ‘You try interviewing two Muslim women who refuse to speak to you. One can’t speak English and the other one is lying, and I’m concerned about the whereabouts of her fifteen-year-old daughter who I think could possibly have been sexually abused.’

Pam sighed. ‘OK, sorry, Jane. That sounds awful.’ After a moment she added, ‘Did you see that documentary on ATV?’

‘What?’

‘It wasn’t that long ago, all about the execution of Princess Misha’al.’

‘What on earth are you talking about?’ Jane asked.

‘She was a Muslim. It was what they called an “honor killing”, and they were never convicted because she had disgraced the family name.’

‘She was executed?’

‘Yes, that’s what the program was about. Their faith is so strong that if you disrespect the family’s honor, you pay the consequences.’

Jane started thinking.

‘Hello, Jane? Are you still there?’

‘Sorry, Pam, I’ve got to go. Listen, I’ll come and have a haircut soon, OK?’ Jane put the phone down.

She put on her pajamas and got into bed. She sat there for a while, going over it all in her mind. Aiyla Farook appeared to speak no English, but her sister Farah Fareedi most definitely did, and Jane was going to suggest they bring her in for questioning.