Hoskins again. ‘Sir, further to the missing Ms Mountjoy: her car’s just been found, burned out on waste ground in Feltham.’

‘Okay. I’ll be in as soon as I can.’ Feltham was just a few miles from Leticia Mountjoy’s home. Gillard rubbed his face. He was beginning to fear for the young woman’s life.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Two days previously

That Verity waited until last thing on Friday afternoon to announce she was leaving took almost everyone by surprise. Leticia knew something was up the moment her boss, having been absent all day, walked into Swan House at four p.m. carrying a large cake. She had never seen Verity with such a flamboyant hairdo or wearing so much eye make-up. The high heels and the black dress gave her the look of a catwalk model, glamorous but undernourished. And she was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She rattled the metal forks in her hand to get everyone’s attention, and declared that today was her last day and after a short holiday she would be taking up a new post in Nottingham.

‘We hadn’t even heard you were going,’ said Adrian Richards.

‘Well, it took a long time to confirm the details of the new post. Jill has known for some weeks but I asked her not to let the details out until it had been confirmed,’ Verity said.

‘What is the new job?’ Leticia asked.

‘I’m going to be head of special services for the disabled in Nottingham City Council.’

‘Ah, I saw that job advertised,’ Richards said. ‘I was thinking of going for that myself.’

Verity then called out to the rest of the staff in the open-plan office that there was carrot cake. ‘Once you’ve finished this, I hope you can all come and join me in the wine bar across the road after work,’ she concluded.

Leticia and Tina exchanged wide-eyed glances. They had never known Verity to go drinking. They weren’t going to miss this for the world.

The wine bar was already thronged with the after-work crowd when Leticia and Tina got there. Verity was talking to a couple of young men at the bar. She refilled three glasses with a bottle of something fizzy from a silver wine cooler. The only other person from the office who was there was Adrian. He must have sneaked out early from the senior team meeting. She didn’t know most of the rest. As soon as they got to the bar Verity greeted them warmly and called to the barman for another bottle of cava. She seemed genuinely pleased to see both Leticia and Tina.

‘Leticia,’ Verity said. ‘I think you are going to do very well. I know I’m late with your appraisal, but I’m going to tell Jill that I think you should replace me.’