‘Okay, so here’s what I suggest,’ she said. ‘Ian’s not going to be out until tomorrow. Get your locks changed first thing, and that will keep him out while you get your injunction. In the meantime, we’ll have a word with him. We’ll advise him to stay away from the house or we might have to arrest him to prevent a breach of the peace. That might make him pause for thought. Hopefully it will be enough to put him off. I’ll give you some contact information – people who will help you through the injunction process. Get a good night’s sleep and sort it in the morning.’

Becky could see the relief in Callie’s eyes and wished they could hold Ian Fullerton on remand for another couple of days to give her time to recover from her ordeal and begin to get her life back on track. But there was no way they could do that. The best thing she could do would be to organise a ride home for Callie and get herself away too.

Tomorrow was likely to be another long day.

CHAPTER 69

69

Tom was beyond tired. He had been at the Atwell house all night, and had spent the morning filling in all the gaps. He needed some sleep and had left the team working at the scene, trying to find Judith’s remains. They had called to report that they were now focusing on the rose garden.

Tom thought he had seen Jack briefly, standing at the end of the track as dawn broke, but as he made his way towards the figure, it had disappeared. Maybe Tom had imagined it, or perhaps he had just hoped that Jack was still around. He was relieved that his brother hadn’t been picked up lurking in the grounds of the Atwell property, but he was sorry not to have said goodbye.

All he’d had was a text: ‘I’m gone. Be seeing you, little brother.’

Tom had cursed Jack for a moment. Why did he always have to slip off into the shadows? Why could he never take his leave face to face? Tom had tried the mobile number the text had come from, but it was dead, so he had no choice but to wait to hear from him. He knew, though, that his brother would be watching, following the case, and would be expecting a message on Tom’s computer. And he had a feeling Jack would be back.

Tom had also had heated words with Nathan Gardner before he disappeared in the ambulance with Hannah, berating him for being so irresponsible.

Nathan had looked at him in the usual way, his face devoid of any expression. ‘You found my sister, Tom. For that I can’t thank you enough. But I don’t think I was irresponsible. It’s a matter of perspective, and mine is different from yours.’