Lorraine arrived at ten. Her fortnight’s holiday had evidently been spent on a sun-lounger; she was tanned to a shade Robin wouldn’t have thought possible for a blonde, the blue of her eyes almost supernatural by contrast. Tall and athletically built, she was wearing a pale pink crocheted cardigan that looked like a newborn’s matinee jacket knitted on a giant scale. If Maggie’s element was silver, though, Lorraine’s was evidently gold, multiple fine chains around her neck and a load on her wrists, which rattled on the desk in the back office as she sat down with the Dell, requisitioned with unwarranted jealousy as soon as the introductions were over.

‘You’re a devil for the detail, aren’t you, Lorraine,’ Maggie said. ‘Invaluable. Though there’s not much invoicing to do, unfortunately, darl.’ She extracted an old-fashioned ledger from the filing cabinet. ‘Just the three reports I was finishing before you went. I’m halfway through another, if I get a second, but we’ve been busy. We’ve got a case on the other side of things.’

Two very plucked eyebrows went up.

‘Becca Woodson, twenty-two. Missing from Sparkhill. We’ve actually just had a bit of a scare – there was a body found in Tyseley this morning. Not her, thank god.’

‘Do they know who it is?’

‘Not confirmed yet – Nuttall said he’ll be in touch. Right, Rob, hand me that kettle and I’ll get it on. I need a coffee before I go. Are you still on your herbal whatnot, Lorraine?’

‘Here, I’ll do it.’ Robin took it from her.

‘Thanks. On the subject of invoicing,’ Maggie said, following her out to the front office, ‘how did you get on with Michael Dixon yesterday? Any joy?’

Michael Dixon? Oh, yes. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Afraid not.’

‘Really? Again?’ Maggie frowned. ‘Have I got my wires crossed? Or maybe it’s a different one – it’s possible, isn’t it, two Michael Dixons? But I was pretty sure I’d got the right one.’

‘I’ll try again this afternoon.’

‘Well, maybe. Let’s see how we get on. I’ll be back by lunchtime, we’ll make a plan of campaign. Have you heard from Tarryn?’

‘No. I’ve texted and emailed, and I sent her another note on Instagram, too.’

They looked at each other. ‘Has she posted anything since Monday?’ said Maggie.

‘Not the last time I checked. Can I?’

‘Of course.’ Maggie slid her laptop across the table. ‘Use it while I’m out. If you’re going to be with us for a while, we’ll have to get another one. Maybe two – replace the Dell.’

‘Needs it. It’ll pay for itself in what you save in man hours.’ She opened Instagram in a new tab and went to Tarryn’s page. ‘No, nothing. Her last post was Sunday morning.’