As she walked through the hall she stopped to look at the gallery of family photos hanging from the wall and up the side of the staircase. She’d noticed them on the way in, but hadn’t been given the chance then to take them in properly. There were various holiday snaps and professional photos of the Reeves taken over the years. Paul Reeve featured in many of them. He was tall and lean with chiselled facial features – much like his father. His squared chin, protruding brow and dark stubble made him look older than his age. In many ways he was handsome, but there was an unpleasant glint in his eye. Rebecca had said he was creepy; the Agnews had said something similar too. There was simply something… off about him.

Paul wasn’t an only child. There were even more pictures on the wall of a guy Dani could only guess was Paul’s older brother. He was not as tall, nor as athletic as the now-deceased youngest son, but the firm family favourite, Dani decided. As kids he was the one always in his mother’s arms on the holiday shots, where Paul was often off skulking to the side. The brother was the one with a wide and happy smile, compared to Paul’s frowns and pouts. The star photo of the gallery by far was of Paul’s brother wearing graduation garb from Aston University. No such picture of Paul existed.

‘That’s Anthony,’ Barbara said, her unexpected intrusion startling Dani.

Dani turned to Barbara who was standing in the lounge doorway, her face drained, her eyes welled with tears.

‘He’s older than Paul?’ Dani said, quickly recovering.

‘He was. Ant’s dead too.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Dani said, her words edged with genuine shock.

‘It was a car accident. A lorry driver, asleep at the wheel on the M6, ploughed into his car. Four years ago this December. Ant and his girlfriend both died that night.’

‘That’s terrible,’ Dani said, surprised that Barbara was holding herself together as well as she was.

‘The guy’ll be out of prison next year, they reckon,’ Barbara said. ‘Good behaviour. Our Ant had good behaviour all his life… where’d it get him? No one can give him a get out of jail free card.’

Dani didn’t know what to say. She felt immensely sorry for Barbara and Matthew Reeve, to have lost not one but two adult sons, and in such a short space of time.

‘They’re lovely photos,’ Dani said, thinking about how she could steer the conversation somewhere useful. She wanted to find out more about the brothers. More about who Paul Reeve was, and what had got him killed.

‘Yeah, well, that’s all I have of my boys now.’

Barbara turned and padded off towards the kitchen.

‘Are you sure you don’t want a hot drink, detective?’ she called without turning back.