Which kind of was the truth, though Dani wouldn’t give McNair the satisfaction of agreeing.

‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ Dani said.

McNair was now incredulous. ‘Can you imagine the backlash we’re going to see tomorrow? You’ve taken a simple local murder case and turned it into a national media frenzy!’

‘I said what I thought.’

‘Based on what evidence exactly?’

‘How about that our victim had most likely been kidnapped and then imprisoned somewhere before she escaped and was murdered? We don’t know when she was taken or how, where she was kept even. In my mind, someone who undertakes such pre-planned and meticulous and frankly dire behaviour is likely to have committed previous offences. How—’

‘You’re putting two and two together, even with those assumptions.’

‘We also have several other young women who’ve gone missing in West Midlands recently who fit a similar profile to our Jane Doe, who may or may not be dead already.’

McNair’s look soured further. ‘What are you—’

‘And how about the intruder at Mrs Staunton’s house? Not satisfied with killing Jane Doe, the perp heads across the road, seamlessly breaks into a house, drugs the occupant and then stands watch over our crime scene investigation before vanishing into the ether. Again, that suggests to me a repeat and calculated offender.’

‘Suggests being the correct word, Stephens. That’s not evidence; it’s wild fantasy. You have no evidence those other women are dead, and certainly not at the hands of the same person. You have no evidence that the intruder at that house, and the killer of Jane Doe are the same person, or that they’re even in anyway linked.’

‘But it’s possible! And quite frankly them being the same person is more likely than it being a coincidence.’

‘In your opinion.’

‘Yes, in my bloody opinion. I am a detective. I do get to have one.’

‘Dani,’ Easton said, tentatively coming over to her and putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ‘Perhaps we should head off for the night. It’s been a long day.’

Dani opened her mouth, ready to tear into him, but managed to hold herself back. Just.

‘I think that’s a very good idea,’ McNair said, sounding calmer herself, though her eyes remained pinched with distaste. ‘Get some rest, Stephens. We’ll talk about this in the morning.’

Dani said nothing else, just turned and walked off.

As she headed up the stairs of her apartment block, Dani’s head was still pounding despite the earlier medical intervention. Until the press conference her first day back on the job had gone by without serious incident, but now she was jaded and mentally shattered and wondered if the damage done with McNair was at all repairable.