‘It’s too early for us to say exactly. But we think he was murdered. Stabbed.’

‘How? Why? Who would do that to him?’

‘Those are some of the questions we were hoping to ask you,’ Dani said.

With that, Barbara’s expression turned from hollow to scathing in a flash. Dani wondered whether her words had been misconstrued. She braced herself for the outburst that was surely coming. She’d seen it many times in family members who’d just learned of the death of a relative: consumed with pain and anger, they needed to vent, and the police were an easy target. Dani knew better than anyone how venting and raging was a by-product of trauma. She would try to remain as placid as she could. Barbara Reeve had lost a son and she needed support.

‘So you don’t know who did this?’ Barbara blasted. ‘What good is that? You should be out there now, catching my son’s killer.’

And then, as quickly as the anger had come, it was overtaken with sadness and Barbara bowed her head and sobbed.

‘So you think this could take a long time then?’ Reeve asked. He betrayed no emotion, though he seemed strained as though he was bottling it up to try and stay strong for his wife. Eventually it would explode out of him, Dani knew. It always did.

‘It’s possible,’ was all Dani said to that. ‘You have to understand that we’re at a very early stage of the investigation.’

‘But you have no suspect?’

‘I’m afraid we don’t yet.’

‘Wait a minute,’ Barbara said. She jabbed a finger towards Dani in something of a eureka moment. ‘I know you.’

Matthew Reeve raised an eyebrow and looked over to his wife. Dani felt Easton staring at her too and she tensed up, waiting for Barbara to carry on.

‘I saw you in the paper, quite a while back, but then the other day as well. You’re that detective who was almost killed.’

She turned to her husband for confirmation. He looked back at Dani, his eyes now beady as he tried to place where he might have seen her before.

‘I’m right, aren’t I?’ Barbara asked.

‘Yes,’ Dani said.

‘Hell of a thing to come back from that.’

‘It was. But I’m back nonetheless.’

‘They caught the guy, didn’t they? The one who did that to you?’

Barbara pointed again. Dani knew she was indicating the scar. By now Dani’s blood was rushing, and the room felt stifling. Given the press conference and the headline in the local paper, she had to expect to be recognised. She just wished it didn’t make her feel so useless and… angry. Why did it make her feel angry, exactly?