Smart lad, she thought, readying herself to brief the forensic team. Once they were here, they could move the body. The way Bev was lying, it was impossible to see either the scar on her ankle or the tattoo on her shoulder. Those identifying marks would enable them to formally identify the body without having to wait for DNA. And then it would be time to break the news to Torin. Paula thought her chances of dodging that bullet were nil.

She walked across to the roadway and lit a cigarette while she waited for the specialists to suit up. Fielding got out of the car and Paula took the opportunity to bring her up to speed on what Okeke had discovered. ‘There’s no doubt about it,’ Fielding said. ‘We’ve got a single perp and two victims that we know of. Chances are he’s got a record for violent offences, which means as soon as we do get some forensic evidence, he should show up on one of the databases.’

‘Let’s hope so.’

‘Once we get her turned and we confirm the tattoo and the scar, I want you to talk to the son. You know him, it’ll be better coming from you than a stranger. Presumably you know where he goes to school?’

Paula nodded. ‘Kenton Vale. You don’t want to wait till the end of the school day? Or until his aunt gets here?’

Fielding looked at her as if she was mad. ‘Paula, this is the twenty-first century. There’s no such thing as a hermetically sealed investigation any more. I don’t want this kid finding out his mother’s dead from Twitter or Facebook. As soon as we know for sure, we need to move on it. Line up an appropriate adult. What about the friend he’s staying with? Presumably there’s a parent in the picture?’

Now she was in the shit. ‘Actually, the friends he’s staying with are me and Elinor. My partner.’

Fielding surprised her again, given her child-minding jibe the day before. ‘Why didn’t you say so? It’s no big deal, as long as the family’s happy with that.’ She sounded more exasperated than angry. ‘Frankly, I’d rather he was safe under your roof than camping with some mate we know nothing about. Can you get your girlfriend to come and hold his hand?’

‘It depends on her schedule. She’s a registrar at Bradfield Cross; if she’s got a clinic or ward rounds, she can’t just walk away from it.’

‘When does the aunt arrive?’

‘Not until this afternoon.’

‘I don’t want you tied up till then. See what you can do.’ She glanced at the white-suited CSIs, lugging their boxes of kit across the bleak car park. ‘Looks like we’re getting some action.’