Jane guessed what Asil had done.

‘He’d threatened the people on the estate who were abusing you.’

‘Not him directly. He hired some people to find us, they witnessed it and he told them to sort it out.’

‘So you did talk with him.’

‘Yes, I couldn’t get away from him. He told me he never worked for my father and sent us to St Cuthbert’s because he was unable to raise us on his own. Now he’d returned to the UK he wanted to make amends, but I told him Rachel and I would never forgive him and not to come near us again or I would call the police. He handed me a large envelope and said it contained twenty-five thousand pounds, which we could use to buy a place of our own. I told him I didn’t want his ill-gotten gains and threw it back at him. Then he handed me a business card and tried to convince me he owned a company in Cyprus that exported fruit for big supermarkets. I knew he was lying, tore the card up and walked away.’

‘When did you speak to him?’

‘About two months ago.’

‘And you haven’t heard from him since?’

‘No, but I’m sure he’s watching us. You have to understand I can’t risk Rachel finding out the truth. If we can get moved off the estate then he won’t be able to find us.’

‘He has already, and he will again if he wants to. The good thing is that so far he hasn’t turned up here. I’m grateful you’ve told me the truth, Emma, but knowing what I do now puts me in a difficult position. I can’t lie to the council to help you get a move—’

‘And I can’t tell them the truth for Rachel’s sake.’

‘Leave it with me for now. My detective inspector was arranging for a local detective to speak to you next week. I’ll have to tell him about our conversation today and seek his advice about the best way forward, then I’ll let you know what he suggests.’

On the way back to the car Jane told Teflon about her conversation with Emma in the kitchen.

‘That puts everything in a different light,’ he remarked.

‘I wouldn’t want Rachel standing up in court where the defence could use her family past against her and she wouldn’t have a clue what they were talking about.’

‘In that case, do you think you did the right thing by asking her to keep helping us?’

‘We can use what she tells us as intelligence and not evidence. That way we won’t need to call her as a witness and can protect her identity.’

‘That’s good thinking, but I’d run it by Murphy first and let him make the decision.’