Kelly and the uniform charged after her and found her leaning over the railing, waving the stick at anyone who might be able to hear her warnings.

‘I’ll skin you all alive! You!’ She spotted someone walking down below. ‘Tell ya fucking friends to find out who did this to my Keira, or I swear I’ll get the lot of you!’

‘Sharon…’ Kelly began, but Sharon ignored her and made her way to the stairwell, banging on doors with her stick as she went, yelling threats and obscenities. She was drawing a crowd, and Kelly let her rant on. It was working; the woman was reaching more people – in more extreme ways – than the police ever could.

As she carried on downstairs, Kelly knew what was coming. ‘Get in front of her,’ she told the uniform. ‘Block her from the tent.’ He nodded and ran in the direction of the forensic tent. Sharon rounded the corner and the group of nosy neighbours that had begun to disperse stopped and watched the show.

‘You!’ she screamed in people’s faces. Her rage was having the desired impact. Bystanders listened and reassured, promising to ask around. They calmed her down, and one woman invited her into her flat. Sharon agreed. Kelly went to her and gave her a card.

‘I’ll be in touch, Sharon. You’ll be assigned a liaison officer.’

‘Don’t want one. I just want to see Keira. Wait a minute, is she in there?’ She looked at the tent suspiciously. The woman who’d invited her in tried to hold her back, but Sharon shoved her off. People recorded on their mobile phones.

‘It’s a crime scene, Sharon, you can’t go in.’ Kelly blocked her path and Sharon crashed into her, bouncing back in amazement and confusion. A uniform arrived from nowhere and helped her steady herself. She got the message. The woman might have an enormous gob, but she wasn’t getting past Kelly. There was also the CSI and a uniform at the entrance to the tent.

‘Come on, Sharon, let’s get out of here,’ the other woman said.

Kelly watched as the pantomime drew to a close and Sharon allowed herself to be led away, exhausted, having vented her passion for now. It was a touching scene, and she felt powerless.

The crowd began to disperse as more officers arrived and imposed further perimeters. Kelly made sure that the scene was secure and went back inside the tent to start her own assessment.

‘Overkill, ma’am,’ said the CSI.