He texted his mum on the way to DCI Suzanne Laughland’s office, and she replied with her customary swiftness, telling him that Bonnie was fine, that she’d slept through the night and was at this very minute carpeting the dining room floor with Weetabix. Bonnie was eighteen months into her messy phase and the thought of his mum stooping yet again to scrape soggy cereal off the floor, lift the toddler out of her seat and keep her entertained, change her nappies and deal with her tantrums, made him flinch with guilt. But Mum insisted she enjoyed it – as did his just-retired Dad.

It was not a conventional set-up, living with his parents at thirty-five, with his little daughter and without his wife, but right now it was the only thing that worked. The only way he could continue to do this job.

‘Patrick, come in.’

He entered DCI Laughland’s office and took a seat.

‘You look knackered,’ she said.

‘Don’t you start. I’m going to brave the shower in a minute.’

‘Rather you than me.’ The office shower was a pathetic, hastily installed addition to the unisex toilet, with water temperature that veered straight from scalding to freezing and back again. It was only ever used in times of dire need.

‘And you’ve got a pink mark on your face that looks like the edge of a mouse mat.’

He rubbed his cheek. Suzanne Laughland and Patrick had worked together for a long time, stepping up ranks in tandem over the last ten years, Suzanne always one rung above him. She had ash-blonde hair, tied back neatly, and huge blue eyes that made her look years younger than her true age, despite the worry-lines on her brow and the deepening crinkles around her eyes. She wore the lightest touch of make-up, no jewellery apart from her wedding ring.

She had a picture on her desk too: of her and her husband, Simon. They had no kids. Patrick had never asked her why she’d chosen not to be a mum, or if she had indeed chosen it.

‘I need you to give me an update,’ she said, ‘before we go in and brief the team.’

He told her about the interview with Helen Philips, and the subsequent interview with her husband, Sean.

‘Any conflict in their testimonies?’

‘Hmm. Not really. They both described the evening very similarly. They only disagree when it comes to Alice, the teenage daughter.’

Patrick watched Suzanne push a strand of hair from her face.

‘Helen thinks there’s a strong possibility that Alice had her boyfriend round – one Larry Gould. Carmella says that Sean is adamant she wouldn’t do that without telling them. I should mention that Helen is Alice’s stepmother.’ He briefly described the family history.

‘So Dad thinks Alice is a little angel who can do no wrong?’