‘I know it’s not a case priority, but I can’t stop thinking about Ali. Uniform kindly agreed to pop into some of the youth centres on their patrols. Hopefully someone will have seen him.’

Dan shook his head. ‘After what he said about Kyle, he’s probably gone to ground.’

‘In another filthy squat?’ It felt wrong. ‘With another load of druggies and criminals?’

‘I know you won’t want to hear it but whenever I’ve seen a kid look that scared, it’s rarely ended well.’ He scratched the stubble on his chin. ‘I’m worried about you, Maya. Don’t get too involved. It won’t help anyone. Plus – the ID of the woman in the fire is more urgent than Ali. Nothing has happened to him yet.’

I rolled my eyes in protest although I knew what he was saying was right. ‘Thanks for the pep talk, Guv.’ I forced a laugh to conceal my reaction. ‘While you were on HOLMES earlier, is there anything new on Kenny?’

He shook his head. ‘His sort are good at keeping their identities concealed. This is his area of expertise to a tee.’

‘Do you think that Kenny might be Frazer from the forum?’

‘It’s possible.’ He kicked a can and sent it flying. ‘It’s what’s so frustrating. There are so many strands to the investigation, it’s difficult to know who’s a person of interest and who’s a suspect.’ He turned to face me. ‘What was your impression of Indra when you interviewed her? Do you think she’s a contender for the arson still?’

‘She certainly has a motive with her husband’s infidelity. Simas didn’t have a life insurance policy but the business is well-insured. She’s understandably angry but she doesn’t seem particularly upset about losing her husband.’ I stopped. I knew that people felt and expressed emotion differently. ‘She seems genuinely broken by the news that he was still having affairs, and by losing the baby, but I’m not convinced by her alibi or Marta’s. They’ve both used each other which is rather convenient.’ If Indra had loved Simas, even if she was angry with him, wouldn’t she have been more upset? Perhaps Simas had been simply a means of security or maybe she’d finally fallen out of love with him? That might have made it easier for her to have put up with his cheating, turn the other cheek, pretend to be bothered by it while all the time getting on with her own life. Particularly when she found out that she was pregnant. Perhaps she was planning to leave him all along? ‘What about Marta? Indra told me that the trafficking had left her full of rage. She said Marta’s idea of what was “normal” had gone awry. She also said that Marta hated Simas and she “hoped” Marta hadn’t killed him.’