‘I swear, no. I did think it was a coincidence that the flash mob gathered outside a shop which then burst into flames, but that wasn’t because anyone said anything.’

‘What did Riad and John think?’

‘I haven’t seen either of them and you’ve got my phone.’

‘Didn’t you all leave together?’

‘No. We were terrified. Everyone scarpered.’

‘Have you been back onto the website since the fire?’

She began chewing at the skin round her nails.

‘Sophie, the arson caused two deaths,’ said Dan. ‘The fire was deliberate. That’s murder. If you know anything, we need you to tell us.’

‘Will you tell my mum?’ The question shot out.

‘It depends,’ Dan replied. ‘Only if we think she needs to know.’ He paused. Made his voice softer. ‘Did you get drugs for attending the flash mob?’

Wet blobs fell from her eyes and landed on her hands and lap. She buried her face in the dog. ‘Please don’t tell Mum. Or Dad. I swear, they’ll go mad.’

‘What sort of drugs?’ I chipped in.

‘We could choose. Weed or E.’ She sat up. ‘And they said they’d give us a tenner.’

‘Who was giving people their money?’

‘I didn’t see. I got there a bit late, so I never got mine.’

‘When you arrived, was anyone greeting you? Giving instructions?’

‘No, it was supposed to be a spontaneous thing.’

‘And who was responsible for the music?’

‘Dunno. I went to college then my job. When I got there, the music was already playing. Riad and Ali arrived with John, I think, and I met them there.’

‘We will need their names and contact details.’

‘They’re in my phone. I don’t know any of their addresses, sorry.’ She picked up a pencil, scribbled on a Nando’s receipt, and passed it to me.

Riad Farzat

Ali Kousa

John

‘You don’t know John’s surname?’

‘Sorry, no.’

‘Do you have any photos of them on your phone?’

‘Yeah. Loads. The four of us and everyone.’ Her expression became panicky. ‘But we were probably pissed, and a bit . . . ’

‘We won’t worry about that now. When you were dancing, did you see anyone go into the soup shop?’

‘No. But to be honest, we weren’t looking. Someone had made a playlist and the tracks changed quickly, and we were all dancing. For a while, until the fire, it was fun. It helped to take my mind off my mum and dad.’ She looked worried again. ‘You won’t tell the olds about the drugs, will you?’

*

Back in the car, outside Sophie’s block, I called in the details of her mother’s disappearance while Dan ran Riad, Ali and Sophie’s names through the PNC. John would have to wait until we had a surname for him.