‘And, please don’t think I’m mad, but I’ve felt almost like I’ve been stalked these last few days. Like someone’s always watching me.’

‘Which could be the alternative explanation for the notes. That you simply have a stalker intent on winding you up and causing you grief.’

Dani felt riled by him saying that; she’d thought he was one person who’d indulge her. She’d come here to have the conversation out in full though, so she wouldn’t stop now.

‘Yes, that’s possible,’ Dani said, ‘but I don’t think it’s true. I think the murder of the young woman, Natalya, was a mistake.’

‘A mistake?’

‘An accident, perhaps. Maybe the killer panicked. But he hadn’t meant to kill Natalya. At least not then, not like that. She’d been tied up somewhere. There were cuts and sores on her wrists and ankles. She’d been bound, but escaped.’

The look of concern on Grant’s face was growing as she delved into the detail. She realised she was breaking multiple rules in divulging such information to him, but she felt justified. Plus, she believed not only that she could trust him, but that he could help too.

But then thoughts of Jessica Bradford still sat uncomfortably at the back of her mind. Could she really trust him?

‘And what about the man?’ Grant said. ‘Paul Reeve.’

‘That’s what I don’t get still. It’s possible he was the one who killed Natalya, but then why would someone kill him afterwards?’

‘The answer might be simple. Maybe you have more than one suspect here. It’s not unheard of for killers to act as teams. Fred and Rose West, for example.’

Dani hadn’t really considered that possibility, but she had to admit it made a certain amount of sense. That wasn’t necessarily where she’d been going, but for a few moments she sat there thinking about it, before she got herself back on track.

‘Or maybe he was killed to frame someone else,’ Dani said.

‘But you don’t have someone else,’ Grant said. ‘Do you?’

‘Really, the point I was getting to, is that this feels to me like more than just out of control drugs related violence.’ She thought again about the notes. About the intruder at Mrs Staunton’s house. About the shadow following her around.

‘What if there are other victims?’ Dani asked. ‘Take Reeve out of the question, but think about Natalya. Her life in a dark world. She was an illegal immigrant, we believe. An escort. Very few people knew about her, and those that did know her knew very little. She was such an easy target for someone who can make people… disappear.’

Dani left that thought out there, not sure if Grant was picking up on where she was headed or not.

‘So you’re saying you think there are other victims, similar to Natalya?’