“Here, try this, you daft bugger.” She handed him a Phillips, and he worked the panel free, setting the screws in her waiting palm and then easing the top edge away from the lip of the bath. She directed her torch into the void and gave a low whistle as its beam caught a plastic bag tucked in the farthest corner. “Okay, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it wasn’t a leaky tap.” Aware of his aversion to creepy crawlies, she shoved her gloved hand into the gap and gasped as something multi-legged scurried over her wrist.

“Is it gone? What was it?” he asked from the safety of the doorway.

“Yes, it is, and I’d rather not know. Lay that towel out.” She snatched at the bag, feeling the plastic snag and tear on the bare floorboards. The bag was knotted at the top and stuffed to the brim. She could see fabric through the gaps and knew before they’d opened it what they were about to find. “I’ll buzz Steph,” she said, unravelling the sleeve of a pale blue shirt. “Leave everything in situ and tag it as a job lot.”

Radio in hand, she went onto the landing but took an unconscious step back as she saw Steph striding up the stairs. There was a gleam in Steph’s eyes that automatically put her on guard.

“I was just about to call you,” she said. “We’ve found the clothes Peel was wearing the night of Kyle’s death.”

“Bag them and prioritise them for the labs,” Steph said, dismissing the discovery with a flick of her hand. “When did you last speak to Jem?”

Rosie felt for the wall behind her, letting its cool weight ground her. She hated the way Steph said Jem’s name.

“Why?” she hedged.

“Not today, then.” Steph smiled, evidently regarding that as some kind of victory. “I just got off the phone with her.”

“Right.” Rosie waited for the punch line. If Steph played true to form, it would come before long, and it would almost certainly hurt.

“She’s at West Pennine A&E,” Steph said, and everything else seemed to disappear beneath the boom of Rosie’s pulse in her ears.

“Is she okay?” she snapped, cutting off whatever Steph was saying.

“What?” Steph paused, looking puzzled. “Jem? Yes, she’s fine. She’s there with a friend.”

“God.” The thudding in Rosie’s head slowed and began to fade. Had she not still felt so off-kilter, she would have been humiliated by her reaction. “Steph, what’s going on?”