She smiles at me and uses her card to get out of the room. The door closes behind her, and I hear it lock.

Tom had decided he should call Philippa Stanley and lay out the facts as he knew them, making Nathan the source of the information and leaving Jack out of it altogether. He was about to pick up his phone when it rang.

‘That was quick, Becky. What have you found out about the Atwells?’

‘Nothing yet. That’s not why I’m calling. I thought you should know that Callie Baldwin has just walked into divisional HQ.’

‘What? Bloody hell, that’s a turn-up. Right. I guess you’re on your way over there now to interview her. I know I’ve not been involved in the case, but she has links to the Atwell couple. I’m on my way to you, and I’ll call when I’m in the car to fill you in on what I know – or suspect.’ Tom was rushing around his kitchen, picking up his keys, grabbing his jacket from the back of a chair, pushing his personal mobile into his pocket. ‘I’ve another call to make first. Go and see her, but hang fire on the questioning if you can. Okay?’

Becky agreed, but he could hear the puzzled note in her voice. He didn’t have time to explain and needed to speak to Jack.

He ran out to the car, jumped into the driving seat and threw his phones into the well in the central console, where they would automatically connect to the Bluetooth system.

As he reversed his car out of the drive, he tried Nathan’s number while at the same time working out the best route at this time of night from his home to divisional HQ on the opposite side of Manchester.

His call went straight to voicemail. For a moment Tom was irritated that Nathan might have switched his phone off; the next second he was furious. He would bet money that Jack and Nathan had ignored him and were somewhere in the grounds of the Atwell property. That was why Nathan wasn’t picking up, and he was sure Jack would be behind that decision.

‘You stupid, irresponsible idiot.’ Tom gripped the steering wheel tightly and fought the temptation to take his irritation out on his accelerator pedal. He was torn. Should he prioritise interviewing Callie Baldwin, who was safe in Becky’s hands, or should he stop his reckless brother from being arrested if, as Tom suspected, he would very soon be forced to send a team out to the property where Jack was illegally lurking?

He was about to swing onto the motorway, but at the last minute he carried on round the roundabout. He was nearer to the Atwell house, so he would have to leave Callie with Becky for now.