Despite the situation Dani found herself stifling a smile.

‘He’s upstairs at the moment, checking out what the neighbours have seen and heard.’

‘So?’

‘So Constable tried the handle.’

‘For what reason?’

‘You’d have to ask him that.’ The tone of his voice made it clear he felt unnecessarily challenged.

‘And?’

‘It was unlocked.’

‘So you decided to enter, just like that?’

‘I think we had reasonable cause, given what’s happened.’

Easton was certainly on the defensive. That was fine. Dani was pushing him, she had to make sure the judgment to enter the premises was sound. Even though there was a dead body here, the police had entered effectively on a whim. She’d have done the same thing – in fact she had done so over at June Staunton’s house – but that didn’t mean everyone would see it the same way, and the key thing was making sure that Easton had a sound and justifiable explanation.

‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing,’ Dani said. ‘So what do you know?’

‘Very little. I mean, it looks like it’s our guy, doesn’t it?’

Dani looked at the blood-smeared face, which certainly bore a close resemblance to the picture they had of Paul Reeve, aka Jimmy.

‘The paramedics confirmed the death,’ Easton said. Dani nodded. A medically trained person confirming death was a procedural necessity, even if it was damn obvious Reeve would never be getting up again.

‘What happened before they arrived?’ Dani asked.

‘We checked the body first, to see if he was alive. After we called it in, we checked the rest of the apartment to see if anyone else was here. But other than that we haven’t touched or looked for anything. I called forensics, just like you said, then waited for you to arrive.’

‘Ok,’ Dani said, deep in thought.

‘Do you think we should call the pathologist too?’

Dani mulled that one over for a moment. She moved to the body and squatted down onto her haunches.

‘Stabbed to death, it looks like,’ Dani said.

‘I agree. There’re at least two puncture wounds to the gut. Massive blood loss. But also abrasions and bruises to the face, arms and torso.’

Dani sighed. Cause of death seemed clear enough, and even though she could well imagine Ledford’s response to being called out to the crime scene if he felt it unnecessary, she feared that the case might be bigger than even she had thought. They’d wanted to speak to Paul Reeve in relation to the murder of Natalya, and he also had a clear link to another missing woman – Grace Agnew. Plus he had two stab wounds to the gut, the same injuries which had proved fatal to Natalya.

What the hell was happening?

‘Call Ledford. Maybe he’ll pick up on something here that we won’t. I’d rather be safe than sorry.’

‘I’ll do it now.’