She doesn’t finish because there’s a loud knock on the door. We both jump up and Katy runs to the window. My heart thumps in my chest.

‘Is it him? Is it Jack?’

Is it? Will we finally meet face to face? After all this time?

She opens the door slowly, but it isn’t Jack. It’s a plain-clothes detective and two uniformed policemen.

Chapter Thirty-six

He’s gunning for me. I can tell. He’s staring at me and his head isn’t tilted to one side in a sympathetic stance like DS Percy. Katy invites them in, but they don’t move.

‘DI John Ball.’ He flashes his ID. ‘I’d like you to come down to the station, Caroline. Just to answer some questions.’

I swallow hard. This isn’t all friendly like before. He’s deadly serious.

‘Am I under arrest?’

‘No. Just some questions. At this point.’

‘What’s this about? I haven’t done anything wrong.’

I think I see the mouth of one of the accompanying policemen twitch. He’s probably heard all this before.

‘Let’s just go to the station, shall we?’

I grab my jacket and my car keys. But he shakes his head.

‘No. You can come with us.’

They’re in a police car. DS Percy’s little car is nowhere to be seen. We get in, him in the front and me in the back with one of the policemen. No one makes conversation on the way there. He’s checking his phone and texting the whole way.

When we get there, he takes me through the custody entrance and into a small room. I can see the coffee machine at the end of the corridor.

‘Can I grab a coffee?’

He doesn’t look at me.

‘Won’t take long. You can get one then.’

We go in the room and I expect us to be joined by someone else, but he shuts the door. He doesn’t switch on the recorder and he doesn’t ask me to sit down. Instead, he leans on his hands on the table.

‘Right, I’m giving you one chance here. Where’s Emma?’ I start to open my mouth to protest but he carries on. ‘No one’s seen her since yesterday and she’s been reported missing.’

I shake my head.

‘Emma who?’

He moves closer to me. His teeth are gritted. The door opens and DS Percy comes in and stands behind him. She speaks now.

‘It really would be for the best if you told me everything. Right now. This is serious enough as it is, but I need to know where Emma is.’

I sit down, lean back and fold my arms.

‘Why don’t you ask Jack? This is his business, not mine. Ask Jack about Emma, whoever she is. Because I’m fed up of having all this blamed on me.’