It made Fleet wonder whether Zack had really intended to kill Melissa – or even Lance – from the start. Or whether it was all about Richardson for him, and he’d only resorted to killing the others when he’d felt he had no choice: Lance, when he threatened to betray him; Melissa, when Zack was so close to realising his goal, he didn’t want to risk her ruining things at the last. He’d kidnapped Nicky for the very same reason, and probably decided that moving two bodies from the docks to Shining Light would be taking too much of a chance. He’d told himself afterwards that both Melissa and Lance deserved to die, but perhaps only because it’s what he needed to believe.

‘Melissa never really tried to locate Lance, did she?’ said Nicky. ‘Do you think she even knew Ben’s body had been found?’

‘It seems unlikely,’ Fleet replied. ‘We only had Zack’s word about when Melissa actually went missing, after all. He told you it was the same day the rumours about Ben first started appearing online, but I’d imagine that was for our benefit. To encourage us to draw our own conclusions.’

‘And he wrote Lance’s address on the notepad in Melissa’s room for the same reason,’ put in Nicky. ‘Used the residents’ computer to search for Lance rather than his own. He knew we’d come looking for Melissa, and he wanted to keep us focused on Richardson and his friends. To deflect attention away from him.’ Nicky exhaled. ‘Not that he needed to worry. I didn’t even come close to suspecting him.’

‘You had no cause to,’ Fleet reassured her. ‘Not at that point.’

‘That doesn’t make me feel any less of an idiot. And then, after I got the call from Melissa, I walked straight into Zack’s trap.’

‘If it makes you feel any better,’ said Fleet, ‘I would have done the same thing. And you’re not the only one feeling like a fool, you know.’

‘You?’ said Nicky, showing her surprise. ‘You’re the hero of the hour. What have you got to feel foolish about? I saw what happened up on that tower. The footage has been playing non-stop on the news.’

Fleet had seen it, too, in the hospital waiting room. The clip had cut away just at the moment Zack started to fall, but that hadn’t made it any easier for Fleet to watch.

‘I didn’t save him. Zack. Isaac. I wasn’t able to talk him down.’

‘You saved Richardson,’ Nicky countered. ‘Which, OK, I can understand might not be something you feel like getting printed on a T-shirt, but you saved my life, too, you know. And from what I’ve heard, it was largely thanks to you that no one was seriously hurt in the fire. The situation was a mess until you and Sean got there.’