Tom barely had time to register the fact that only one woman had been found in the cellar when there was a shout from upstairs. An officer was leaning over the balustrade.

‘Sir, you need to get up here. Now, sir.’

Tom ran along the corridor to where the staircase curved up towards the first floor, taking the stairs two at a time.

A door part-way along the corridor stood open. Two officers stood by it, their arms hanging by their sides. Whatever lay within clearly offered no danger, and one of them turned to Tom as he approached.

‘Ben’s gone in, sir. But we thought one of us was enough.’

The men stood to one side so that Tom could see into the room. A large bed stood facing the door. Two people lay on the quilted cover, fully clothed. A thin young woman with long dark hair was standing at the end of the bed, holding on to the brass bedstead with both hands as if she needed the support.

‘I remembered the number,’ she said. ‘I remembered it. We had no food, Thea. You forgot to feed us. We were hungry. We needed a cup of your tea.’ She was staring at the people on the bed, rambling – incoherent phrases mingled with short sentences.

Tom spoke quietly to one of the officers. ‘Get her out of there, will you? Gently as you can. And get a paramedic up here.’

The officer nodded and approached the girl. ‘Come on, love. Let’s get you downstairs.’

There was a sudden shout from below and Tom’s head whipped round.

‘Have you found my sister? Hannah! Hannah! She’s my sister. Let me through!’

‘Bollocks,’ Tom said to nobody in particular. ‘That’s all we need.’

The girl lifted her head, a puzzled frown between her eyes. ‘Nathan?’ she whispered.

‘Take her down, and get that bloody idiot out of here. He must not come up here under any circumstances, and if he argues, arrest the stupid bugger.’

Tom wanted to go down and give Nathan Gardner an earful, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the two people on the bed. The officer named Ben was crouching by the side of the elderly woman, taking her pulse. He looked at Tom and shook his head.

‘Okay,’ Tom said. ‘Better come out of the room, then. Let’s get a paramedic up to confirm it. Both of them, I presume?’ The officer nodded. ‘Then let’s get the crime-scene boys in here.’

‘I’m right behind you, Tom.’

For such a big man, Jumbo could move very quietly. Without taking his eyes off the bodies on the bed, Tom spoke. ‘Jesus, Jumbo. I’ve seen some things in my time, but this feels like one of the worst.’

Jumbo stood close to him in the open doorway, their shoulders touching. Neither had anything more to say.