Other than get arrested, Bish thought.

‘At first I thought he was here out of guilt,’ Fionn said. ‘He didn’t speak to me for most of the trip. Not until the last couple of days. But now he lets me talk and talk. And not once has he pretended that my leg hasn’t been blown off. Because he was there, he was the first person I saw when I opened my eyes afterwards, and he kept saying over and over, “It’s okay, Sykes. I’m here. I’m here.” I was so scared I pissed my pants.’ Fionn seemed heartbroken. ‘Did you know it was me who killed them? I was trying to make room for Lola’s bag and I moved the backpack that had the bomb in it. Put it in Astrid and Michael’s overhead locker. That’s what the French are saying. I read it on a blog.’

Bish put a hand on the boy’s arm. ‘No one knows what happened, Fionn. Not yet. And even if what you say is true, what would that mean? If the bag had stayed where it was, you and Lola and Manoshi would be dead.’

Fionn was now sobbing. ‘I just want to get out of here. Sometimes I wake up and I can’t breathe. Can you find a way to get me out of here? Please? ’

Iqbal Bagchi had volunteered to drop Saffron home on his way back to London. It meant that Bish could take her car, with the hope of making it across to Calais by seven with Bee by his side. He suspected that the conversation with Rachel about the proposed interrogation by French Intelligence would be tricky, and was bound to end in either labour or another fainting spell.

‘No. And no!’ Rachel said. ‘Just in case you didn’t hear it the first time.’

‘We don’t have much of a choice, Rachel.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, I know the law. Of course we have a choice.’

She was chopping up onions in a way that had Bish fearing for her fingers. He removed the knife from her hands and found himself making the wife-stealer’s dinner.

‘They’ve promised me Bee isn’t under suspicion. When Attal’s daughter was interviewed by Intelligence, she recalled Violette mentioning an argument with the driver of the French bus. That was reinforced by footage caught on a video of Michael and Astrid.’

‘So why involve Bee?’

‘Because Marianne Attal claims Bee was there when Violette spoke about the argument. French Intelligence believes Bee can shed light on what took place. Not to mention the fact that she shared a room with Violette for a week.’

‘I thought Violette wasn’t a suspect?’

‘She’s not. She was possibly the target. Could still be if we don’t get her off the streets.’

Rachel was unconvinced. ‘Why did they interview Attal’s daughter in the first place? They’ve got something on these kids, Bish. There must be more on those campsite security cameras.’