‘These have been circulated to all forces throughout the country and posted widely in the locality. Our officers will shortly resume house-to-house enquiries, showing this picture and the community officer will be at Danny’s school this morning to address their assembly and interview his classmates.’

Suni appeared with a tray of steaming mugs which they all accepted, whether they wanted drinks or not. She carried the morning paper under her arm and placed it on the coffee table.

‘Will the press know about this?’ Martha asked, unsure if it would be a good thing or not.

‘It’s bound to get out; these flyers and the house-to-house will ensure as much. What I’d like to do is hold a press conference so we can retain some control over what the press print, and hopefully the publicity will help us find Danny,’ Radford explained. He picked up the newspaper and a white envelope dropped onto the table. Everyone’s eyes focussed on it, but no one made a move to pick it up.

‘Has this come this morning?’ Radford asked, waving the paper in the air.

‘Yes, the paperboy delivered it just before you arrived,’ Richard told him.

Pulling a pair of latex gloves from his pocket, Alex Radford carefully lifted the envelope, pulled open the flap and slid out the letter inside. Everyone in the room was aware of what it must be. Would it be put together with words cut from magazines, Martha wondered, or was that just in old films? Her heart pounded rapidly – she felt sure the others in the room would be able to hear it. The detective seemed to take an age to read the letter and his face gave nothing away.

Radford then looked grave. ‘They want three hundred thousand pounds.’

6

DAY 2

Martha watched as Richard made to grab the letter but Radford pulled it away, dropping it into an evidence bag that Graham Foster was holding open.

‘Sorry, sir, but we need to preserve it for forensics.’ Radford then spoke to the two new officers, instructing them to find the paperboy and discover how he came to deliver the letter. They left immediately.

‘Isn’t this good news? At least we know that Danny’s still alive?’ Richard asked.

Martha gasped at his words; had he already been assuming their son was dead?

‘Yes, it is.’ Radford attempted a smile that sat rather awkwardly on his face. He then excused himself and went into the kitchen to make a phone call. Graham followed his boss while Suni stayed with Martha and Richard. She asked if they’d slept at all, to which they both shook their heads. It was hardly a situation for making small talk and the three lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.