‘We found the Mitsubishi Warrior and Sam’s Renault.’

Gillard dropped next to Hoskins to peer inside. Before anyone could react, he had grabbed Hoskins’ torch, and wriggled under the shutter into the unit.

‘Gillard!’ Otara yelled, ‘I told you. Come out of there, now.’

He didn’t reply. The place was only lit by the control lights of two banks of vertical chillers, six in all, blasting out freezing air towards the vehicle. It took Gillard a moment to find the light switch, and the strip lighting flashed on. The Warrior stood glistening in the centre of the concrete space, so frost-covered it looked like it had been dipped in icing sugar. On either side were two supermarket-style glass topped freezers, and beyond them, deep in the recess of the vaulted space, Sam’s black Renault. It was more mildly frosted.

Hoskins now squeezed through the gap, followed by the locksmith, who was intent on finding a way to get the shutter raised. Gillard flipped off the chillers so they could hear themselves speak, as two or three of the uniformed officers made their way laboriously inside.

Gillard pulled open the doors and then boot of the Renault. Empty. He turned back to the Warrior.

‘The car’s full of ice,’ Hoskins said, scraping away the surface frost of one of the double cab’s windows. ‘That’s not just on the outside. It’s been filled with water and frozen solid.’ He scratched away at the driver-side window, and then pressed his face to the glass. ‘Jesus Christ Almighty, someone’s frozen in there. A woman. I can see hair, long dark hair.’

Gillard let out a groan.

‘Definitely dark?’ Perry asked.

‘Yes, dark,’ Hoskins said.

Perry gasped with relief. Thank God! It’s not Vanessa. His heart went out to Gillard, losing this roll of the cosmic dice.

‘For fuck’s sake, what are you all waiting for, let’s get her out of there!’ Gillard was working the controls of the freezers.

‘What are you doing?’ Otara called. He was on the ground outside staring through the gap, just as the roller door, finally cut right across, was being hauled up manually.

‘I’m reversing these to defrost,’ Gillard replied. ‘We’ve got to heat this place up. Now you lot, get some tools, break the windows. Let’s get hacking at the ice.’ He stared disconsolately at the huge SUV, not only the double cab full of ice, but the truck bed too, a good foot deep. ‘Can you open this car?’ he asked the locksmith.

‘Not till the locks are unfrozen. But I’ve got a blowtorch in the van.’ He sprinted off to fetch it.

‘Come on, let’s have some initiative,’ Gillard said, punching his fist into his open hand. ‘She could still be alive in there.’

As if to emphasise his words, there was a bang of some kind from the vehicle.

‘Is that ice cracking?’ Hoskins asked.

‘Shh,’ said Gillard. They all listened for a few seconds, but could hear nothing.

The big industrial chillers were already now pumping out a huge amount of heat. ‘Wind the roller door down again,’ Gillard said. ‘Retain the heat. We’ve got to get the temperature in here way up.’