And he’d seen Roland twist her arm to get her in the car seat.

He felt a cold dread well up in his stomach. If it was Roland he’d have to stop him seeing Jo, and that meant telling his parents what had happened, and that would break their hearts.

There had to be another explanation. What if there was nothing going on? What if Jo simply bruised easily? That was a thing, right?

Although normally that meant something bad was going on, medically, which was hardly any better.

He reached for his tea. He wished it was something a bit stronger. He was going to have to talk to Roland, and he was not looking forward to it. His brother was not the most stable person, and he couldn’t be sure how he would react – it could be indignant anger, disappointed silence, maybe even a return to the drugs.

Whatever it was, though, Tom would have to deal with it. He had to keep his daughter safe. That came above everything else.

Alice

Detective Superintendent Marie Ryan coughed and the room fell silent. There were many more people here than for the last press conference – the room was nearly full – and there were tens of faces on the video call.

‘Thank you for being here,’ she said. ‘We have an update on the Crucifix Killer case. Detective Inspector Wynne will give more details, but there’s been another attack. This one was different, however. The attacker failed, and the victim escaped.’

A woman sitting a few rows in front of Alice put her hand up.

‘Did they see the attacker? Any identification?’

‘DI Wynne will address that,’ Ryan said. She nodded at Wynne.

‘Thank you, Detective Superintendent,’ Wynne said. ‘The attack took place just after 2 a.m. this morning. The victim, Mike Andrew, seventeen, of Latchford, was walking back to his home from his girlfriend’s house. He was walking from Lyons Lane down through Lumb Brook when he was attacked.’

‘Where did the attack take place?’ a man called out.

‘Under the Bridgewater Canal aqueduct,’ Wynne said. ‘The attacker was waiting there with a large hammer.’

‘Any idea how they knew Mr Andrew was coming?’ the man asked.

Wynne nodded. ‘Mr Andrew reported that he was passed by a car. It’s possible this was the attacker, and they stopped up ahead and waited for him.’

‘Any details on the car?’

‘Dark in colour,’ Wynne said. ‘But no identification of the make or model. Mr Andrew walked under the aqueduct and was assaulted. He dodged the blow and was able to run away. He suffered a broken arm, and the attacker fled the scene.’

‘How is Mr Andrew now?’ a woman asked.

‘Stable,’ Wynne said. ‘He’s fortunate he did not sustain the blow to his skull. It was a killing blow.’

‘Does he remember anything else?’