‘I agree. There’s another player in the Fiona case. That guy whose name you got for Ray, the one with previous. Vincent Carney tried to attack her before and is a registered sex offender. What concerns me is that Charlie Lane is absolutely adamant that he didn’t take Fiona and there are certain elements to his story that have me wondering if he’s actually telling the truth. He claims he didn’t go after women in his home area because it nearly came back to bite him in the Mary Ellen case. And he seemed genuinely bewildered by the letter we received.’

‘I see. So you’re wondering if Fiona was taken by somebody else – perhaps with a sexual motive?’

Tom shrugged.

‘It’s always possible, Tom. The abusive boyfriend might have gone too far. She may have been about to out the guard, so he silenced her. Neither of them have form for sexual assault, but that’s not a prerequisite. And, let’s be honest, the guard would know how to dispose of her body without being caught. Carney, though – well, he’s your strongest suspect, I would have thought. Given he has prior convictions.’

‘I’ve just thought of something, boss,’ Ray said.

‘Go on.’

‘We searched Carney’s property for somewhere he could have been hiding her. But what if he’d already buried her on his land? Maybe Healy was in on it – maybe he murdered her and got Carney to bury her so he could point the finger at him. Who’d believe the local – what did he call him, a simpleton, wasn’t it – over a guard?’

‘The village idiot. That was the term he used. After his passionate defence of people with disabilities.’

Tom considered Ray’s theory. It was plausible. They could start a search of the land around Carney’s house tomorrow with that in mind. Bring in the dogs.

‘Thanks, Natasha,’ he said, shaking her hand again.

‘For all the use I was to you,’ she smiled. ‘And now I have to get back to this appalling case. Families, huh? Completely screwed up. It’s either love or hate, there’s no in-between.’

‘Wanna grab a quick dinner?’ Ray asked. ‘I can see your head is still buzzing. Louise won’t thank me if I send you home in this state.’

‘She’s over in Sean’s,’ Tom said, glumly. ‘I’m barred from joining her. She said I’m to go straight home to bed after here.’

‘Well, then.’

‘Don’t you have a new girlfriend to visit? Those flowers are probably wilting in that hospital heat at this stage. Or there could be a handsome doctor chatting her up. With the amount of hits and misses you’ve had in this little love saga to date, I’m surprised you’ve left her on her own this long.’

It was Ray’s turn to look down in the dumps.