‘They keep their CCTV for a month at the Trafford Centre. Pat Cody’s picked up the vic on it. And it looks like they’ve captured the killer on camera too.’

‘That’s great news. Is he emailing it across?’

He shook his head. ‘He’s got it on a memory stick. He’s on his way over with it now.’ He offered a tentative high-five and Paula returned it. Even if high-fives were childish American nonsense, building bridges was the key to settling into a new nick. Make friends with your underlings, build a bulwark till you’ve figured out how to make the DCI happy.

DC Black had something else to add. ‘Devon and Cornwall got their arse in gear too. They’ve interviewed Pawel the Shit and the bad news is he’s alibied rock solid for that Saturday and for Friday through to Tuesday morning this weekend. He was either at work or shagging the arse off one of the chambermaids. No way he had enough time between shifts to get up here and dump Nadia’s body.’ The news didn’t come as a blow to Paula. She’d never had any conviction that Pawel had the heft for this kind of crime.

She found Fielding at her desk, intent on her computer screen. The DCI barely looked up when Paula walked through the open door after a token knock. ‘Any news from the lab?’ Fielding asked, fingers rattling over the keyboard with the fluency of a touch-typist. Her hair had lost some of its glossy perfection; she almost resembled a mere human who struggled with the hours and the demands of the job.

‘Would you settle for a bloodstain on her jacket?’

Fielding stopped typing and gave Paula her full attention. ‘Tell me more.’

‘I noticed there were six buttons on one cuff but only five on the other.’ Paula wasn’t in the habit of playing up her own role in investigations, but she reckoned she still had a long way to go when it came to making Fielding understand how good she was.

‘Have you been at the Sherlock Holmes again?’ Fielding’s tone was severe, but for the first time, she treated Paula to a sardonic smile.

Paula shrugged. ‘I’m such a girl. Anyway, Dave Myers took a closer look and he reckons the button came off recently.’

‘So it could have happened when she was taken.’

‘Exactly. There was nothing to be seen, but the test for blood came up positive. We might have some of the killer’s DNA.’

‘That’s a good start. Fingers crossed that we get the DNA.’

‘And double-crossed that he’s on the database.’

‘How soon will Dr Myers have a result for us?’

‘In the morning. I also mentioned Grisha’s theory about the taser, so Dave’s going to check whether there’s any of Nadia’s blood in the relevant places.’