Nick groaned. ‘Don’t say anything else. Always the political answers. I’m getting tired of it. Just drive me home. My wife will be beside herself and I need to get there.’

‘We’ll be home soon. Nick, you should have answered Tactical Support’s questions. I’m sorry about what happened, and I promise we’ll do everything we can to get Josie back home. But now you need to help us with that. From the start, at the bingo club. We saw and we heard most, but pretend I know nothing. It’s the little details we need.’

Nick kicked out, catching the back of Bennet’s seat. The detective ignored it. ‘I want to kill every one of them.’

‘Completely understandable. But believe me, a life sentence in a cage is worse, and that’s what they’ve got coming.’

‘What if Josie is in a cage and they can’t get back to her? Or they just decide it’s too risky to go back? If she’s tied up and she can’t breathe properly and she’s got no water and they just abandon her…’

Legs again thumped the driver’s seat. Bennet slid the car into the side of the road and turned to face Nick. ‘You have to try to relax, hard as that seems. Look, I’ll be honest, I don’t know for sure if they plan to release your daughter. Not for certain. But they wanted money and they got it. It makes no sense to hurt Josie now.’

‘If you say so.’

‘Tell me about the callers. You said two men. Did you recognise either voice? Are you sure this wasn’t one person?’

‘Two men, Bennet. Not some woman doing a damn Darth Invader impression. Look, no more questions from you. You saw the show. You know what I know. Now you talk to me. You tell me what you know and what you’re doing to find my daughter and these bastards. And start driving again so I can get back to my wife and make sure she’s okay.’

Bennet didn’t object. The vehicle started rolling.

‘Dominic Watson-Bruce,’ Nick said, tasting the name while staring at the man’s mugshot on Bennet’s phone. ‘They were going south and Northampton is a straight run south. So that’s where they’re going? I want to go there. If they’re going to release my daughter, and it’s going to happen there, I want to be there for her as soon as possible.’