Con knew that he needed to get Murphy somewhere more comfortable before he’d talk, and more importantly, away from Doble. It didn’t hurt that the lawyer hadn’t come along either, although the man didn’t seem like he’d have been much of an obstacle if he had.

Most of all, Con wanted Murphy to talk to Eliza. When they’d first arrived at the scene, the teacher had been in an ambulance and was unable to say anything that made sense. They needed to send someone else in before they spoke to her. A familiar face – a worried parent – would be perfect to draw some sense out of Eliza Ellis, because if she was this concussed, then detectives, no matter how nice they were, would make her anxious and forgetful. He didn’t love the idea of putting a potential suspect in the room with her, but considering the girls had already been missing for hours, it was an acceptable gamble.

‘How are you going back there, mate?’ said Con. ‘Anyone you want us to call?’

Murphy shook his head, watching the window.

‘Warm enough back there?’ Murphy didn’t respond. Finally, Con said softly, ‘What does your gut say?’

Murphy glanced up at him through the rear-view mirror. ‘What?’

‘Your daughter. What does your gut say has happened?’

Murphy’s eyes narrowed, looking for a trap. Then he said, ‘She’s too smart to go off the trail. If she got lost, she’d stay where she was. She’s really protective, so if one of her friends was hurt, she’d probably jump off a cliff to save her. Otherwise, the only way she’d leave that track is if she was taken or if she was tricked.’ He shook his head once, like brushing off a fly. ‘How far away are we?’

‘That bad?’ said Gabriella. ‘We might have some painkillers.’

‘I’m bloody fine,’ he said, ‘but no one has told me anything about what happened up there. Was Eliza the only one there?’

‘You know her, do you?’ said Gabriella.

Con approved of her avoiding his question. They’d agreed to keep Murphy in the dark as much as possible, in case he offered details about the case he shouldn’t know.

‘I know most people in this town. Plus she’s Jasmine’s teacher.’

‘But it’s not just that school connection, right?’ said Con. It was important if he knew Eliza well – it made him an even better choice for drawing sense out of her.

‘I’ve seen her at the pub a lot of times. Even had a few drinks together, back in the day. But not since she became Jasmine’s teacher. Why?’ he said, gruff, those piercing blue eyes narrowed again.