As they listened once more to the voice of the kidnapper, Martha could bear it no longer and rushed from the room, heading upstairs. The three police officers strained to hear every word and every pause, hoping to pick up a clue, but there was nothing.

‘Sounds as if he rang from an inside location, no background noises, nothing really to help at all,’ Foster remarked.

‘Why the hell does it matter if they’re inside or out?’ Richard asked.

A look passed between the detectives then Foster explained. ‘We had a case a few years back when a bell chiming in the background revealed the kidnappers’ location. One of the team recognised the distinctive sound of a church bell, which led to the safe recovery of the child involved. Sometimes the little things make a difference. Hopefully the tech team will come up with something useful.’ The DS’s words silenced Richard.

Radford turned to Richard. ‘Do you know the village he mentioned?’

‘Yes, but you heard him, if there’s any sign of police, he’s gone... and probably Danny will be too.’

‘Mr Stone, this man is trying to frighten you. He wants to scare you into going there alone with the money. They’ll know for certain we’re involved when the press conference is broadcast this evening, but having left it overnight to make their initial contact, they’ll probably expect us to be on the case anyway.’

‘So, what now?’ Richard shrugged.

‘We wait. Now they’ve given instructions they have to let us hear from Danny, and if they still want to make the exchange early tomorrow morning they’ll probably ring back soon.’ Radford and Foster sat down to wait while Richard went upstairs to check on Martha.

She was in the en suite of their bedroom, splashing water on her face in an attempt to pull herself together.

‘Come down, Martha,’ Richard asked. ‘DI Radford says the kidnappers will probably call again soon to let us speak to Danny. You don’t want to miss hearing him, do you?’ He didn’t say possibly for the last time, but Martha heard the unspoken words anyway. The couple went downstairs, accepted more coffee and sat with the two detectives to answer another barrage of questions.

‘Did you come up with any names for us, anyone who might hold a grudge?’ Graham Foster asked. Martha shook her head; she honestly couldn’t think of anyone.

‘I’m dealing with new clients every week, but I can’t imagine anyone in the corporate world who would seek revenge in such a manner,’ she said. Richard could offer no names or fresh ideas either.

‘What about your pro bono work in London?’ Martha looked hopefully at Richard, willing him to know of someone who held a grudge. ‘Don’t you occasionally take on criminal cases?’