The police moved in cautiously with armed officers leading the way. Neil got out of the van and raised his arms high in the air. He was quickly ordered to drop to his knees and then onto his face. He readily complied, not wanting any more trouble than he was already in. When the officers ordered Sally out of the van, she appeared not to hear and an armed officer cautiously made his way towards the passenger side door.

‘Don’t hurt her. Her son’s just been killed – she doesn’t know what’s going on. He’s over there, look!’ Neil shouted and pointed to Lewis’s still figure. The policeman, who kept his foot in the small of Neil’s back, called for his colleagues to investigate and very quickly they established it was the dead body of a male child. An officer talked rapidly into his radio, giving a running commentary of events as they unfolded. He was the one to update Radford on discovering the child’s body.

Neil was unceremoniously dragged to his feet, cuffed and put in the back of the police car. Only then did he have the chance to tell one of the uniformed officers that the boy they were looking for had run off into the wood, and the dead boy was Sally’s son, Lewis. Sally was treated with a little more care and sensitivity as she was taken to another car to wait until the detectives arrived.

Radford and Foster were on their way to the scene, constantly keeping up to speed with any developments over the radio. When they were given the information that the man they’d arrested named the dead child as Lewis, Graham hurriedly rang Suni to update her and the family that Danny might still be alive although he was missing.

After arriving at the scene, DI Radford sat in the car with Neil. ‘My officer tells me you’re claiming that Danny ran into the wood. This wouldn’t be a ploy to give your accomplice time to get away, would it?’ He stared directly into Neil’s eyes.

‘No, it’s true, honest. When Pete pointed the gun and it went off, we were all startled. Lewis fell and the other boy, Danny, ran off – scared to death, I dare say.’

Radford kept up the steely stare. ‘And why should I believe you? You’re a kidnapper and an accomplice to murder.’

‘I might have gone along with the kidnapping, but I didn’t sign up to kill anyone. He’s a madman that Pete Turner – he’s the one who pulled the trigger and that’s when I decided it’d gone too far. Turner’s the one you want. I waited with Sal knowing you’d soon be all over the place because I couldn’t leave her in the state she’s in.’