Thrupp took his finger away and crossed his arms. “Relation of yours, by any chance?”

“Harper’s a pretty common name, sir.”

“How long have we known each other, Jo?”

The memory hit her like a slap for being so stupid. Of course. Ruby had met the DI at the Police Local Heroes awards ceremony four years ago. Only for a few seconds, but still. They’d shaken hands. How could she have forgotten? Thrupp clearly hadn’t.

Quietly, she asked, “When did you realize?”

“Oh, I didn’t. Terrible memory for faces, unfortunately. That young community support officer, Louise, made the connection. She saw the name on the lease on the flat opposite Mr. Franks, then had a quick look at social media when she couldn’t get access for a statement. Ruby doesn’t have a profile on Twitter or Facebook, but there are ways of finding people, as you well know.”

Anger colored Joanna’s cheeks. I told Louise I was going to follow that up myself. The snitching little—

Thrupp went on. “In fact it was very easy indeed to identify Ruby Harper as your relation. There’s a photo of you together. On your social media. Several, actually.”

Jo wanted to cry. She forced the feeling downward, into the pit of her stomach where it sat, hard and heavy, waiting to come back up.

“You knew it was her from the start,” said Thrupp. “The photograph on the station platform. You’d have known immediately. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I can explain.”

Thrupp held up his hand. “Actually, there’s no need. I know you can get a bit … emotional sometimes. When family’s involved. Hell, we all do. So, I’m not going to bollock you. But I’m transferring you, for now. With a note of caution.”

Jo was so surprised that she couldn’t speak at first. Where was the almighty tirade, the lecture about holding up an investigation? Why wasn’t he angrier? What she’d done—and this was only the parts he knew about—could have been a sacking offense. “You’re not punishing me?”

“Not this time. I’ve spoken to Constable Atkinson. He explained that Ruby is your, um, well, he said the situation was complicated. That you’re going through the wringer right now with family stuff. You’re not getting away with it completely—there will be a level of monitoring for the next few months.”

“Please don’t take me off the case.” She needed to be on the case. Nobody cared as much about the safety of these people as she did, and that could only be a good thing, surely.

“It’s unethical for you to continue. You know that.”

“Why is it?”

“I shouldn’t need to spell this out for you: it’s unethical because one of the suspects in the case is related to the investigating officer. It makes you biased.”