Patrick almost smiled, until Winkler added, ‘When a lynch mob would actually be a much better idea. Help clear out some known sex offenders, get the nonces off our patch.’

‘No problem, sir,’ said DC Preet Gupta, stepping in before things got too heated. ‘Come on, Adrian, they’re just jealous we’ll be out in the fresh air.’

But even the prospect of spending time with Preet, easily the prettiest of the detectives in the room, couldn’t appease Winkler. Patrick had heard whispers over the last few days that Adrian was unhappy with how he, Patrick, was conducting the investigation. They’d had run-ins before, usually over Patrick’s methodical way of doing things. Winkler was the kind of cop who preferred to drop bombs then sift through the fall-out. Patrick knew he was going to have to watch him.

Patrick continued dishing out responsibilities. CCTV for DC Sarah Trentner, DC Martin Hale checking social networks and phone records. The third DI on the team, Leanne Cornish, had the job of continuing to eliminate known offenders, not just in Richmond but all surrounding areas, including the parts of Surrey that came outside the Met’s jurisdiction. None of it was a surprise. On day one of the investigation, after Isabel had vanished, the energy in the room was fizzing, like a team of hounds straining at their leashes. Now, though, everyone was tired, concussed through banging their heads against the brick wall of this case. The truth was, they had no leads. No idea at all what had happened to these children.

‘Right, listen up,’ Patrick said, forcing himself to make the speech. ‘We’ve now got three sets of parents relying on us. Three desperate sets of parents. We need to keep our focus. We will find these kids. We will find the person who’s taken them. We just need one stroke of luck, one little crack to appear in the case and then we can . . .’ He wasn’t quite sure where he was going with this. ‘Put our fingers into the crack—’

Winkler smirked. Patrick could see ten pairs of raised eyebrows.

‘—and prise it open. Um, prise that crack wide open until we see daylight.’ He paused, gathered himself, ignoring the staring faces. ‘So let’s get out there. Team.’

He turned to the whiteboard and rubbed his eyes. Suzanne, standing by the door, gave him a curious look. He felt a little stab of resentment. She should be the one doing the motivational speeches. But then she gave him a little reassuring smile and he forgave her.

As the team dispersed, he walked over to her, gesturing for Carmella to join them. Before he could reach her, Winkler stepped in to his path.

‘Do I really have to look after the fucking search team?’

‘Yes. You do.’

Winkler opened his mouth to protest again, then some gears appeared to grind in his head and he changed tack.