By this point, I’ve already decided what my plan of attack is going to be. I can’t imagine I look as if I’m in a great state, and I hope I can use that to my advantage.

When I walk inside, the place appears to be empty apart from one officer behind the inquiry desk. I walk up and ask to speak with Jess Caton.

‘Caton?’ the man says. ‘Sorry, don’t know that name. Does she work here?’

‘I’m not sure,’ I answer. ‘I was told I need to speak with her and that she was with Devon and Cornwall Police.’

The man looks at me for a moment, then types something into his computer.

‘She’s not based at this station I’m afraid, love,’ he says. ‘Would you like me to pass on a message or fetch you another officer?’

‘No. I really need to speak to her. Which station is she based at?’

He looks at me again, this time taking in my full appearance. ‘She’s at Bodmin,’ he says. ‘You’re quite a way off patch. Would you like me to get a message to her? Wouldn’t want you to drive all that way for nothing.’

‘It won’t be for nothing,’ I say. ‘How far is it?’

The police officer makes a noise like a plumber about to tell me my boiler needs replacing. ‘You’re looking at an hour, hour and a half. It’s in Cornwall, love. If you’re going to do it, I’d avoid the Atlantic Highway. A30’s probably your best bet, but that can be a pig sometimes too.’

‘Thanks,’ I reply. ‘Is she working today?’

The man lets out a small laugh. ‘I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to tell you that, even if it was something I could find out on this old heap of rubbish. Which it isn’t. I’ll tell you what, leave your name and number with me and I’ll see if I can get it to her. If she’s about, I’ll ask her to call you.’

I nod, then tell him my name and number. I know that if that gets to Jess, she’ll be in touch. She seemed very keen to tell me all she knew. If I remember rightly, she even told me her badge number, although I’ve got no chance of recalling what it was. All I can do is wait for her call. In the meantime, I’m heading for Bodmin.

40

It’s nearer an hour and a half by the time I get to Bodmin, and I park up in a supermarket car park just across the way from the police station. It looks more like an office block, and is situated right on the outskirts of town near a bypass, and I soon realise this isn’t just a police station. It’s a hub. Jess Caton must be office-based. A detective.

My heart is thudding in my chest as I walk towards the building. It’s nearly quarter-to-five. Not that most police officers will work nine-to-five, of course.

What am I going to say when I get there? I was going to use the same line I used in Bideford, but the appearance of this place has thrown me completely off kilter. Bideford Police Station was an unassuming brick building at the edge of the water in the centre of town; Bodmin is a glass office block in the middle of nowhere.