‘Bloody hell, Jack,’ he hissed.

Suddenly the front of the house was bathed in a bright white light, and Tom saw a tall figure marching up the drive.

‘Shit!’

Was it Nathan? The man didn’t have Jack’s relaxed gait, and there was a purpose to his stride that Tom didn’t entirely like the look of. He was going to have to go after him. Sticking his redundant phones in the pockets of his jacket, he set off at a run.

Tom had no idea where Jack was but felt sure he would be close by, so as he ran he spoke in a voice that wasn’t loud enough to be heard through the closed windows of the house but hopefully it would carry to where his brother was probably skulking in the shadows. ‘You have to get out of here, Jack. Now. There’s a team coming. Get the hell out. You’d better be bloody listening.’

Tom caught up with Nathan at the front door.

‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ He didn’t try to hide his anger.

‘If my sister’s in there, I’m getting her out. It’s got nothing to do with you, Tom. If the police can’t deal with it, I will.’

‘The police are dealing with it. We have a team on the way now. You’re just buggering it all up.’

‘Well, too late now,’ Nathan said, raising his fist with the obvious intention of hammering on the door.

Tom grabbed Nathan’s forearm. ‘You are wilfully obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty. Do you want me to arrest you?’

‘Piss off, Tom. You’re being ridiculous.’

‘No, Nathan, I’m not. I know far more about what’s going on here than you do, because I’ve been doing my job. And I know that barging in and alerting the Atwells to the fact that there’s a problem could be far more dangerous to your sister than waiting for a team of men trained to deal with things like this. Do you want this to become a hostage situation? It’s not what you think, Nathan. It’s far worse. Come away from that door.’

Tom couldn’t help thinking that Nathan was the tosser he had always believed him to be when they were younger, but it wasn’t a helpful thought. He just needed to get him clear of the door.

‘I’ve met these two. They’re old, Tom. They’re harmless.’

Tom wanted to tell him that the Atwells had very probably been involved in the deaths of two young women. Never mind the fact that they had another two women locked in their cellar and possibly a third held somewhere else. But that would be unprofessional and would probably result in Nathan beating the door down to get to Hannah.