Time seemed to stop and the wind disappear, and with it the last of the snowflakes, as if they too were giving up. The day, having never really woken up, was retiring already, and the sky was in full retreat.

‘I need a sign that he is in there, and I need to know that the girls are okay,’ she said. ‘That is non-negotiable.’

‘I’m putting you on to the girls, now,’ Fabian said.

‘Fabian! What? Are you in there?’

But before he could answer, she was talking to a quiet and very scared female, who confirmed her identity as Chloe Tate. Kelly thought quickly and calmed her breathing.

‘Chloe, are you all right?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ the girl said. She sounded even younger than fifteen, Kelly thought.

‘Is Sasha with you?’

‘Yes.’

‘And is George there?’

‘Yes.’

‘And anyone else, Chloe?’

‘Yes.’

‘Can you tell me?’

‘No, I don’t know him,’ she replied.

‘I need to speak to Sasha,’ she said. There was a muffled sound and another girl came on the line, and confirmed her identity as Sasha Granger. Kelly chatted to the girl in a similar way and tried to buy some time, as well as calm the girl. She had proof of life.

‘Can I speak to George?’ Kelly asked.

A man’s voice came on the phone and it wasn’t Fabian she was speaking to. Wherever Fabian was calling from, if it was indeed inside the flat, then he had with him the two girls and another man that may very well be George Fellows.

‘How do I know you’re who you say you are, and how do I know that you’re in the flat I’m looking at, George?’ she asked.

‘I’m going to tap loudly on the window above you. I can see you, and I can see your officers with guns,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to hurt anyone.’

She was in no position to trust him or otherwise.

A tapping could be heard above her head and she twisted her head upwards to the sky.

‘Stand down and regroup,’ she advised the ART commander, and he gave the order. She kept George on the line and asked him what he intended to do with the girls. She was buying time to keep them safe because, in this situation, when the person inside a building surrounded by police had nothing left to bargain with, they had nothing left to lose. And when that happened, people got hurt.

Kelly spoke calmly and tried to reassure George, as well as keeping him alert and focused on her, and not on the outside world.

‘Can I speak to Fabian?’ she asked.

She heard the phone being handed over.

‘Detective?’ Fabian asked.