‘Have you found her?’ she asked, fearing the worst.

Gillard shook his head. ‘There was a 999 call at around half past eight, from Trish, saying that a man had driven away in Sam’s car.’

One of the uniforms, a sergeant with a moustache, took up the story. ‘Mrs Gibson rang in at 8.27 p.m., apparently from her vehicle, saying that she had decided to follow the stolen vehicle. She described seeing the man close the garage door, he was tall and of a muscular build, wearing a bulky car coat and a ski mask…’

‘That’s the same man!’ Claire said. ‘The one who tried to run you down.’

‘I think he’s got Sam,’ Gillard said. ‘She doesn’t keep her car in the garage. So the only reason it would be seen driving out of there is if he had reversed it in to load…’ His voice cracked. ‘…her into the back unseen.’

‘Oh, Craig,’ she rushed forward to embrace him, ignoring the presence of the two officers.

‘CSI are on their way, ma’am. We’ve got an alert right across London and the Home Counties.’

Craig had already told her about discovering the earring. Since their phone conversation he said he had found a clump of Sam’s hair trapped low in the hinge of the door into the garage. ‘I’ve taken a peek, and there doesn’t seem to be anything obvious, but I thought I’d await CSI rather than step inside.’ He looked around at his home, as if seeing it for the first time. ‘I’ll need somewhere to stay…’

‘Of course, Craig, you can stay with us.’ She turned to the two uniforms. ‘Is there any news on Craig’s aunt, Mrs Gibson? Any ANPR hits? Any further phone messages from her?’

‘Yes, one further phone message to say she was pursuing Mrs Gillard’s car on the A217 heading towards Sutton,’ the sergeant said. ‘Unfortunately, the call handler asked her to confirm that she was using a hands-free phone, otherwise she would be committing an offence. At that point Mrs Gibson swore at her and then hung up. We’ve heard nothing since, but do have two ANPR hits which correspond to a northbound A217 camera.’

The uniformed constable was on the radio to the control room, the very place where Sam had been working until earlier that evening. Squawks and crackles filled the hallway, but the laconic message being relayed by the female call handler was clear enough. A vehicle had been found in a back road off the A217, a gravely injured female inside. Two patrol cars, the fire service and paramedics were on the scene. CSI was due to arrive shortly.

Gillard’s eyes widened. ‘Which vehicle? Is there a description?’

The constable on the radio asked for confirmation of vehicle make or registration number, but was told none was available yet. ‘I’ll get right on it,’ she said.

The arrival of a white van and another patrol vehicle filled the hallway with the glare of headlamps. ‘Come on Craig,’ Claire said. ‘CSI is here. You can’t do anything but get in the way. I’m taking you back home to Staines.’