Nehwal raised her palm. ‘Let’s not rush ahead of ourselves. It’s still tenuous. But it’s now looking possible that the abduction of Harry Hopkins and Lorna Cunningham could be connected to a double murder. So, as SIO, the first thing I’m doing is having you and your oppos on the abduction case attached to the murder enquiry. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it with Stan. In addition, I’m arranging for a full CSI team to examine that dog burial site out on the landfill—’

‘You might want to hold your horses on that,’ a voice intruded.

They turned and saw Stan Beardmore approaching. He was sallow-faced from lack of sleep and wore a grim expression.

‘Okay,’ Nehwal said. ‘Why?’

The DI looked at Lucy first. ‘Apologies that no one told you about this sooner, but I’ve only just been told myself. It seems that doggie-grave, or whatever it was, has been incinerated.’

Lucy stood up. ‘I don’t get it.’

‘Someone drowned it in petrol and put a match to it.’

‘I put a guard on it. It was being watched all night.’

He shook his head. ‘Because of the extra security we needed at the hospital, not to mention the extra bodies needed at Crowley Old Hall, the bus station and then down on the Aggies, Nights had no one available.’

‘In that case, Malcolm Peabody should have stayed on,’ Lucy retorted. ‘He had orders to stay there until he was relieved.’

‘PC Peabody’s on his way to hospital,’ Beardmore said. ‘Seems the morning shift did have someone to spare, and they’re the ones who found him.’

‘What happened?’

‘Sorry, Lucy. You know as much as I do.’

‘Mum, it’s me,’ Lucy said.

‘I thought it might be,’ came the humourless voice at the other end of the line.

‘Look …’ Lucy glanced around. She was in the personnel car park, waiting by Priya Nehwal’s metallic beige Lexus RX. There was no sign of the DSU as yet, so she felt free to talk. ‘I want you to stay away from the hospital.’

‘Do you indeed.’

‘Mum, this really isn’t a game.’

‘Already, Lucy?’ Cora’s tone tautened. ‘It’s not nine o’clock in the morning yet, and I’m already on the end of another of your officious lectures.’

‘Mum … if you won’t listen to me, at least listen to the facts. There was a double murder in Crowley last night. Two men were strangled and burned. Very likely, in fact almost certainly, it was retaliation for what happened to your beloved Frank McCracken. And it might not end there.’

Cora greeted this with shocked silence.

‘These are very dangerous people,’ Lucy said. ‘And Dad’s as bad as any of them. I’m terrified that if you get re-involved with this man, you’ll end up getting hurt. Maybe worse.’