‘Wow! You see, I knew you were the team to crack this.’ The superintendent looked delighted with herself. ‘Very neat and tidy too: we have Danny Evans as our man for the three murders and then he does the decent thing of saving us a lot of time and effort by removing his own ability to deny it.’

‘We need to evidence the links between Danny and his victims. That shouldn’t be difficult – there are still a number of loose ends, but on the surface it’s starting to make sense.’

‘On the surface?’ The superintendent’s tone carried warning now.

‘His suicide. I didn’t like it from the moment I walked into that scene. Some bits didn’t ring true.’

‘Which bits?’

‘Hang on.’ Joel had the high-definition pictures taken by the attending CSI. They had captured Danny from just about every angle and every distance. He was laying them out on a dusty table when the superintendent spoke again.

‘What did you think of the suicide, Lucy?’

‘I didn’t go out there, Ma’am.’ DS Rose had to clear her throat first. It made the words sound harsher.

‘That was my bad and I have been reprimanded for it,’ Joel said. ‘I have to get used to the fact that I can’t do everything on my own.’ He flickered a smile at DS Rose. The superintendent seemed to pick up on it; she pursed her lips and looked from one detective to the other.

‘The longer you two work together the more effective you’ll get, I’m sure of that.’

‘That maybe true, Ma’am, but …’ DS Rose cut in but then quickly stopped.

‘Yes, yes, I haven’t forgotten. I am holding your old position open, but I’m still convinced that you’re going to fall in love with this role and never want to go back!’ The superintendent snorted a laugh that no one else joined in with. Instead, Joel moved the room’s attention back to the photos by pointing at the first.

‘This is a close-up of Danny Evans’s face,’ he said. ‘You can see the damage to the mouth – this here is what’s left of his top lip and teeth and this is the first thing that raised questions. Danny Evans didn’t shoot himself in the mouth, he shot himself in the face.’

‘Personal preference? Either one gets the job done?’ the superintendent said.