Rosie hadn’t come here for a tête-à-tête. She leaned forward, sorting through the paperwork and re-establishing the gap between Steph’s body and her own. Ignoring Steph’s indignant snatch of breath, she focused on the transcribed pages in her hand. “Do you want to start with the interview?”

“Okay, fine, I get it,” Steph said. “Have it your own way.”

Rosie leafed through the papers, searching for a particular quote. Ava had said, “There was a lad with her, all decked out in gear.” Rosie could see Ava’s grin, her teeth stained bright blue from the M&Ms.

“Are you speaking to the runaways dossing around the canal?” she asked. “This couple, Bill and Nance, they’re using those mills as a hunting ground and taking kids with them to act as lures.”

“We tried,” Steph said, “but we’ve only managed to catch a handful. Two, maybe three at best. They’ve either disappeared of their own volition or they’ve been cleared out.”

Rosie clasped her mug to ease the ache from her fingers. She’d gone from too hot to freezing cold in a matter of minutes. “My money would be on the latter,” she said. “These people are probably responsible for Kyle Parker’s death, directly or indirectly, and they didn’t bat an eyelid at attempting to murder us. God, they came so fucking close to killing Jem.” She paused, unable to continue, and swallowed a mouthful of tea that burned a line straight to her stomach. The pain helped to sharpen her focus. “Smiffy said you got a dark SUV on CCTV. Could the girls have been taken from the mill in the same car?”

“It’s possible. I’ve got a couple of lads from B-shift sifting through footage from local cameras, but it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack without a reg plate to pinpoint.” Steph toyed with the laptop, awakening its log-on screen but not entering any details. “We did get something on CCTV, though.”

Rosie looked at her, intrigued but on guard. “What?”

Steph’s eyes glinted in the low light. She was obviously pleased to have stirred Rosie’s interest. “Footage of Kyle Parker on the night he died,” she said.

“Christ. Where from?”

“A petrol station on the main road, approximately two miles from Ellery Lane. Time stamp puts it about ninety minutes before his body was found.”

“Is he on his own?”

“Nope.” Steph swirled her index finger on the laptop’s mouse, bringing the screen to life again. “I don’t have the authority to share this with you, Roz. It’s for Major Crime eyes only.”

Rosie frowned. “Then why mention it?”

Steph’s smile reminded her of a predator toying with its prey. “Because I’ve missed seeing that spark in you. The one that makes you sit up and pay attention.”

“Pay you attention,” Rosie said, the light beginning to dawn.