‘Bloody hell, it was only a few hours ago! There’s nothing more to say. Can you tell me what you’re doing to catch these bastards?’ Richard wanted to throw the ball back into the DI’s court, to take control of a situation which was completely out of his comfort zone.

‘We’re still looking for possible suspects connected to your work and Mrs Stone’s company. In fact,’ Alex looked at his watch, ‘DS Foster should be at your chambers by now, interviewing your colleagues again.’

This was not what Richard wanted to hear. He stood and walked over to the window, running his hand through his hair in exasperation. He turned back to face the detectives. ‘Why the hell do you need to interview them again? They’ve told you all they know, which is absolutely nothing. Can’t you see they’ve got nothing to do with this and nothing to tell you either? You should be asking some of your criminal informers or whoever – they’ll likely know more than my colleagues.’ Richard was indignant; returning to work would be embarrassing. It looked as if the police suspected he had something to do with his own son’s kidnapping.

DS Bennet asked the next question. ‘Mr Stone, can I ask why you had trouble raising the money for the ransom? Three hundred thousand isn’t a huge amount for someone in your position.’

Richard turned to stare at him, eyes wide and enraged by such a personal question from a relative stranger. ‘I’ve told DI Radford more than once. I recently made some investments and therefore didn’t have such an amount readily available. But what’s this got to do with you anyway?’ His frown darkened his whole face.

‘I’m sorry if this offends you but sometimes it’s the details which give us a break or a new lead. I’ve recently been involved in a similar kidnapping and am trying to piece together all the aspects of your case to compare with mine.’ Dave spoke kindly but firmly while Alex Radford appeared to be enjoying seeing Stone on the defensive.

‘So what happened in your case?’ Richard was keen to know the outcome.

‘The parents paid the ransom and the little girl was released.’

‘And have you caught the kidnappers?’

‘No, which is the reason I’m here. Kidnapping is a serious offence and we won’t let up until these people are caught.’

Radford broke into the conversation again. ‘Mr Stone, is there anything else you can tell us about the two men you met this morning or their vehicle? Perhaps something’s occurred to you which you forgot to mention earlier – naturally you were upset after your encounter with them.’