‘A little bit of charm, a little bit of coercion.’

‘Anything else of interest in it?’

‘I’ll take a closer look.’

Bloom continued circling the kitchen, searching for anything that might suggest who was here or why. She had no idea what she was looking for and everything appeared to be normal. It was only when she closed the kitchen door in order to see the dresser better behind it that she spotted the noticeboard. ‘Marcus?’

He came over to look at the cork board hung on the back of the door. It had a few business cards for electricians and plumbers, a take-out menu, a photograph of a woman in her fifties wearing a sunhat and large shades, and a postcard. Bloom pointed to the latter. It showed forty or so people crammed into a small fishing boat and she read aloud the words printed beneath: ‘To help or to hinder. Your choice.’

‘Migrants?’ said Jameson. ‘What’s on the back?’

Bloom removed the pin and turned the postcard over. The back was blank apart from the name of the print company in the bottom left corner. ‘Quickcards. Aren’t they British?’

‘Yes. As was Julian.’

She turned the postcard around and re-pinned it. Then she photographed it on her phone. ‘What are the chances he’d have that question pinned here? It’s very similar to Karene’s email.’

‘What did that say?’ asked Jameson.

‘Does he help or does he hinder?’

‘I told you we should chase them up,’ said Jameson.

‘Let’s get in touch with Superintendent Drummond. Maybe he can get something out of Quickcards.’

‘What will they tell us?’

‘Perhaps who sent it. Or if Julian ordered it himself. Maybe he ordered more than one and sent them to other addresses.’

Bloom placed her phone back in her pocket and removed her gloves.

‘Also,’ she said to Jameson, pointing at the photograph of the woman, ‘we need to find out who that is.’

26

The flight back to Southend took less than an hour. Jameson sat beside her reading a book on cycling while Bloom used the time to update her case notes.

They hadn’t spoken to anyone who had suggested that Harry might be mixed up in something dangerous. And yet, here was his cousin, tortured and murdered in the most brutal way. Harry and Rear Admiral Grey had both signed the Official Secrets Act – so perhaps there was something there that no one knew about. But Julian Peterson had no other military connections. So was it a personal matter? In which case, why attack a military base? Why not grab Harry on the street or in his home when he was alone and vulnerable?

Somebody wanted to make a scene.

Was it a show of strength? A warning shot?

She took out her phone and sent the picture of the postcard to her iPad. She linked the image to her case notes and enlarged it.