‘We don’t know the details or whether the cylinders have already gone up. We need to evacuate everyone three shops each side. Tell them to go to family, friends or a hotel until we give the all-clear.’ Simon fixed his gaze on each of his officers in turn and issued instructions.

The team burst into action and the fire officers each marched towards the premises they’d been allocated.

‘Gas emergency. Clear the area, please,’ Simon shouted at the emergency services staff who were still hanging around to the left of the soup shop. He checked progress with the lift and made sure the cordon had been widened adequately.

People streamed out of shops, onto the street, wide-eyed and terrified, and were herded to beyond the new cordon. The lift lowered Andy onto the pavement. The operator jumped out of his cab to meet him and steered him towards the cordon as quickly as he could. Here, we were waiting.

Andy began removing his breathing apparatus and climbed out of his protective clothing and head gear. ‘It’s definitely a man and a woman in there,’ he said. ‘They’re curled round each other on what looks like a bed.’

‘Did you manage to get any photographs?’

He nodded. ‘Let me grab a swig of water.’ He was laying his kit out as he removed it. Mask, oxygen cylinders, thermal suit, thermal imaging camera. Dust and debris flew everywhere. For a moment it made me think of the way people lay out bodies after disasters.

‘Poor Indra,’ I said to Dan. Thank goodness she had her sister with her. Losing her husband and business were awful enough.

‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘Things are going to get even worse for her when she finds out about the other body.’

‘You know what the media are like. As soon as they get hold of the story, they’ll splash her personal life all over the TV. It’ll be on the internet and in all the papers. It’s going to be awful for her. And when we broadcast a public appeal for information on the woman, it’s going to increase speculation further.’ While Andy removed his gear, I was turning over in my mind who the best person would be to tell us – in Indra’s absence – whether the man in the photographs was Simas Gudelis. A reliable ID would depend on how burned the body was. Hopefully, we could identify the victims from the images the medical officer had taken and wouldn’t have to rely on dental records or DNA analysis. A thought occurred to me. ‘Dan, can you see if there’s an image of Simas online? A mug shot that we can use as a temporary reference point?’