‘I’m sorry, Inspector. I don’t know why I’m crying. It must be the relief. I feel like I haven’t breathed since the news broke about the bodies last night. We kept waiting for somebody to ring and say one of them was Fi. Oh God, the parents of those poor girls. I can’t imagine …’

She shook her head.

Her husband was staring at Tom and Ray, intense eyes darting from one to the other.

‘If Fi hasn’t been found – why are you here, Detectives? I mean,’ he pointed to Tom, ‘you’re that chap, aren’t you? The head of the murder squad. The Glendalough thing is your case, isn’t it? Why have you come out here to talk to us?’

The inspector glanced down at his hands, needing to break eye contact with the concerned, astute man sitting across from him.

It was Caroline who voiced what her husband had already pieced together.

‘You think he might have her, don’t you?’ Her voice was small and shocked.

‘We don’t know,’ Tom said, honestly. ‘But it is something we have to consider. I want to give you some confidential information, but I need to be able to trust your discretion.’

Both parents nodded, eyes wide.

‘One theory we are exploring is that the man who murdered the women we found may have held them captive for a short time beforehand.’

Caroline Holland looked like her heart had stopped beating. Her husband sat forward, his elbows resting on knees spread apart, all the appearance of somebody about to vomit.

‘It is still entirely likely that Fiona has gone off of her own accord,’ the inspector continued. ‘That’s the situation in the majority of missing persons cases, as I’m sure you’re now aware. But, as a precaution, we want to intensify the search for your daughter and to do that, I need to familiarise myself with her case. That’s why we’re here.’

‘She wouldn’t have just gone off,’ Richard said, his voice raspy. ‘We keep telling them that, down at the station. I love my girl, Inspector. But Fi and Caroline have a bond. She’s the sort who needs to be mothered. Nineteen, but still a child. Fi thinks she’s strong and mature, but she’s not. She gets herself into situations and there’s the –’

‘No, Richard,’ Caroline snapped. ‘I won’t have a bad word said about my daughter.’

‘I’m not having a go at her, sweetheart. I’m just trying to tell the inspector what he needs to know. It’s better coming from us than from somebody who doesn’t know her.’

‘It is absolutely vital,’ Tom interjected, ‘that you are completely frank with me. For Fiona’s sake. Time may be of the essence here.’