‘I have, gorgeous…any chance of letting us in for a cuppa?’ Williams winked back at the horrible woman; he knew they had to gain entry quickly, whatever it took. The instructions from the inspector were to get inside the houses and get the kids back to the station before any of the neighbours knew what was going on. If an arrest was made, they didn’t have the manpower to protect the Milne and Smith families.

Finally, Kate Milne opened up the door. The stench was overpowering. Seven kids, one fat woman and an Alsatian dog in a three-bedroomed council flat. The paper in the hallway was ripped, dirty, and marked where a couple of the children had written their names on it in felt-tip pen. The sink in the kitchen was overflowing with dishes. The radio was blaring and the mangy-furred dog was sniffing Sam’s crotch.

‘My partner’s not keen on dogs, darlin’–do you mind putting him in a bedroom while you and me have our chat?’ PC Williams’s voice was soft, low and surprisingly seductive, and Sam found herself impressed by his handling of the situation. The last thing she needed was an enormous dog sinking his teeth into her leg in an effort to protect his owner.

‘Kevin, you little bugger! Get up! Start getting ready for school. Get your arse down here and lock Rex in the back room,’ she screamed, turning to smile again at PC Williams as the unseen boy did what he was asked. ‘Everyone is affected by little Matthew’s murder. Terrible thing. Kevin–’ she nodded her head in the direction of the hallway–‘he stole fifty pence out of my purse yesterday morning. He bought a single rose and took it along to the yard where they found the little nipper. Heart of gold, that boy.’ She smiled, seemingly proud of her son, while her neglected half-dressed brood ran around the flat unwashed and unfed.

‘Mrs Milne,’ Sam said, keen to move things along. ‘We need to talk to you about Kevin actually.’

‘What?’ Kate Milne asked, looking at Sam as if she’d never seen her before. ‘What could I tell you? Fucking shame, that’s all. Sorry, bloody shame,’ she corrected herself, looking back at Williams. ‘Little bastards who did that–they should be hung up. Scum, that’s what they are. Scum. Probably brought up like animals and then they kill a little kiddie like that–I know what I’d do to them.’

Sam waited a moment, almost willing the words ‘hanging’s too good for them’ to come out of Kate Milne’s mouth before she pulled out a search warrant. ‘Please get dressed, Mrs Milne. We’re taking Kevin into the station for questioning about the abduction and murder of Matthew Cook.’