Dan swallowed. ‘I’m so sorry.’ It was impossible not to feel her pain. ‘I have daughters myself and I honestly don’t know. I’m sure the family liaison officer will be able to help with what to tell your daughter, and how to talk to her about it. And we can put you in touch with specialist counsellors too.’ He thought about Kiara and Sharna, and shuddered as he tried to imagine what Aroona would tell them if he was killed. ‘I do have to warn you, though. It is going to be on the national news, and your daughter’s mates will see it even if she doesn’t.’

‘They’re both at school. Alan and I have a daughter too. I’ll have to tell them, won’t I?’

He nodded gently. ‘When you’re ready.’

She dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue and rested her head on the back of the sofa. ‘Amanda’s just started her GCSE subjects. It’s going to disrupt her education all over again.’

‘You don’t need to explain.’

‘I don’t want you to think I’m not upset about Patrick. I am. But . . . ’ She stared at the ceiling as though she was searching for the words to express what she wanted to say. ‘. . . what I feel for my ex-husband is . . . ’ She broke off again. Looked around the room and seemed to gather muster. ‘Our relationship got very complicated and so did my feelings for him. It’s been hard not to be angry. I am angry. I’m bloody angry.’ The words came out in a splutter.

‘Can I get you anything? Cuppa? Some water?’ Dan often found this the most challenging part of his job. For some, it was the dead bodies and blood. But to Dan, the victim’s suffering was over then. For relatives, their nightmare was only just beginning.

Nicola pulled at her bottom lip. ‘Underneath all the hurt and the anger and the disappointment, I still love him.’ The distress was evident in her eyes. ‘Amanda hoped that one day we’d get back together, and I think that was probably what I wanted too. But not all the while there was a possibility he’d go back to the drugs. And I always suspected he would.’

It was a sad story and Dan sensed there was more to it than that.