‘Of course,’ she said, smiling, though it seemed forced. She stepped to the side and ushered Dani and Easton in. ‘Please leave your shoes at the door. I’ve just finished polishing the marble.’

Dani resisted the urge to smirk at that instruction though she wasn’t sure why. She did as she was told, as did Easton. Mary led them through into a lounge whose key feature was a huge stone fireplace. She indicated to Dani and Easton to sit on one of the three brown leather sofas. There was no offer of a drink or anything as hospitable as that.

‘So Ethan was arrested again?’ Mary said, sitting on the arm of a sofa.

‘Last night,’ Easton said. ‘Drunk-driving. He was also in possession of a not insubstantial amount of cannabis.’

Mary shook her head, in a show of distaste. Whether that was at her son or at the police, it wasn’t clear. Either way there was little real feeling in her reaction. She seemed almost detached.

‘So why are two detectives now out looking for him?’

‘He was released from the station this morning on bail,’ Easton said.

‘You didn’t know this?’ Dani asked Mary. ‘From what I understood, it was a lawyer who’s worked with your husband who filed the paperwork?’

Mary threw her hands up in exasperation and shook her head. ‘It’s all news to me. Though it’s not altogether surprising. Ethan is always getting himself into stupid trouble. But you still haven’t explained why you’re now out looking for him again, if you had him in custody just this morning.’

‘Like we said, he was released on bail. But we’re actually here now on an altogether different matter, Mrs Grant. We’re from the Homicide team at West Midlands Police, and we’re investigating the murders of a Paul Reeve and an as yet unidentified female.’

‘Ah, I thought I recognised you,’ Mary said, and for the first time – at least the first time that Dani noticed – she looked up to Dani’s scar. ‘I saw something on the local news about that the other night.’

‘We believe your son knew at least one of the two victims,’ Dani said, hoping to steer the conversation away from what Mary may or may not know about Dani.

‘I remember reading about you a while back,’ Mary Grant said, clearly not as keen to let the subject drop. ‘When was it?’

‘It’s been over two years since…’ Dani trailed off, not quite sure that she wanted to say anything more.

‘Such a terrible thing to have to go through. I should know. You realise my husband is Steven Grant?’

‘Yes, I realise that. And the similarities between what happened to him and to me have been pointed out to me today already. Not meaning to be rude, but mine and your husband’s pasts have nothing to do with why we’re here.’