She stood up, ready to go. “Thank you for the chat. I appreciate it.”

“Won’t you at least alert the guards?” I pleaded.

She pulled her bag onto her shoulder. “Let me have a think about it. Look, it’s helped just to talk to someone about it. How much do I owe you?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “That’s all right.”

She seemed surprised, but she couldn’t know how hard it was not to recall my sister in situations like this. Faye had been killed by a man who, despite an educated and privileged background, was not dissimilar to this Chris.

Lissa closed the door behind her, leaving me feeling more than a little helpless. I made myself a tea using the last of the milk and sat in Leah’s seat at reception to drink it, while I tried to gather my thoughts. I glanced at the window. It had started to rain again.

Should I speak to Molloy about Lissa? I wondered. It was different to the situation with Mary in that Lissa had specifically asked me not to, so I’d be betraying her trust if I did. But what if she was in danger? I had a copy of the Guide to Good Professional Conduct for Solicitors upstairs in my office.

Relieved to find that Marina had tidied up – I guessed that’s how she’d spent the day before while I was busy seeing clients – I found the Guide easily enough and flicked through to the section on solicitor–client confidentiality. Exceptions could be made where someone’s life was in danger, where there appeared to be a serious risk to the well-being of the client or a third party. According to the Guide, the solicitor was required to judge whether the threat was sufficiently serious to justify a breach of the duty of confidentiality.

Which made me feel better about telling Molloy about my chat with Mary. The difficulty with Jude Burns’s daughter was that she was right: Molloy and McFadden were stretched to their limits in trying to cope with the double crises they had on their plates. How much protection could they give a woman in danger with a flood and a murder on their hands?

I put the Guide on my desk and crossed to the window to look out onto the street. It was only drizzling now, far lighter than it had been, but it hadn’t stopped for any decent period in two days. The rain had wreaked havoc, the town was in chaos and I was of no help to anyone. Despite Molloy, for the first time, saying he could actually do with my assistance.