There had been silence from his ear piece for several minutes now, and Cooper knew he’d lost contact. He pulled out his mobile, praying there’d be a signal. It wasn’t guaranteed, especially since he was below road level. But he was in luck for once. First he called for an ambulance, then he rang Fry’s number.

‘Diane, I’ve found Brian Mullen.’

‘Thank God. Is the child all right?’

‘No, listen. I said I’ve found Mullen. He’s unconscious – he looks as though he’s taken a bad blow to the head, and there’s quite a bit of blood. But he’s breathing all right. I’ve got an ambulance on its way.’

‘And Luanne?’

Cooper didn’t answer for a moment. He was staring at the long rows of looms, the gleaming wooden bobbins. White walls and dusty shelves, the flash of his Maglite reflected and multiplied like stars in the glass roof of the weaving shed. And, almost too far away, a distant doorway that must lead out of the mill to the goyt, where the deep channels drew water from the river.

‘Ben, are you there? What about the child?’

‘There’s no sign of her, Diane. She’s gone.’

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. Silence, apart from the distant sound of a car engine and faint, echoing voices. He pictured Fry still in the parking levels, struggling to cope with members of the public wanting to remove their cars.

‘OK, Ben, hang on there. Stay with Mullen until assistance comes. Is Georgi with you?’

‘I think he’s still upstairs. But, Diane –’

‘Just don’t do anything stupid.’

And then she was gone. Cooper sighed as he ended the call, and checked Brian Mullen’s pulse and breathing again. His skin felt very cold, so Cooper covered him with a bolt of cloth. There wasn’t much he could do to stop the bleeding, but scalp wounds always looked worse than they really were.

He knew he ought to wait with Mullen, just as Diane said. But he was too conscious of time ticking away, too painfully aware that he might have been able to save John Lowther’s life yesterday, if he’d acted more quickly. How could he sit here now and wait while a small girl was nearby, needing his help? Luanne Mullen might at this moment be at risk in the darkness. The thought was intolerable. He knew he’d never be able to live with himself if he did nothing.

Goading himself into action, Cooper ran back to the stairs to shout for Georgi Kotsev, at the expense of destroying the silence in the mill. He was saved the trouble when Kotsev appeared at the top of the wooden steps, looking huge framed in Cooper’s torchlight.

‘A problem, Ben?’

‘Come down, Georgi, will you?’

Kotsev cursed quietly when he saw the body. ‘And the child?’